Publications by authors named "Damaris Lopez Mercado"

Objective: We studied patterns in health care access between Latino and non-Latino White adults according to citizenship status before and after the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was enacted to determine whether inequities changed.

Methods: This study used 2019-2022 National Health Survey Interview data. Differences in predicted probabilities from logistic regression models were used to estimate changes in health care access outcomes (any insurance coverage, private insurance coverage, delaying care due to cost, and having a usual source of care) among Latino citizens, Latino noncitizens, and non-Latino White citizens in periods before and after ARPA's enactment (2019-2020 vs 2021-2022).

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Like many under resourced, island communities, most of the municipalities in Puerto Rico are medically underserved. However, there is limited information about changes in hospital capacity and any regional disparities in availability of hospital services in Puerto Rico, especially given the multiple public health emergencies the island has faced in recent years (e.g.

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Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States since 1898, has recently experienced an increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters and public health emergencies. In 2022, Hurricane Fiona became the latest storm to attract media attention and cast a light on Puerto Rico's deteriorating conditions, including infrastructural failings, health care provider shortages, and high levels of chronic illness. Although recent events have been uniquely devastating, decades of inequitable US federal policy practices have fueled the persistence of health inequities in the territory.

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Background: The Latino health paradox is the phenomenon whereby recent Latino immigrants have, on average, better health outcomes on some indicators than Latino immigrants who have lived in the United States longer and US-born Latinos and non-Latino Whites. This study examined whether the paradox holds after accounting for health care access and utilization.

Methods: The 2019-2020 National Health Interview Survey data were used.

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The goal of this nationally representative, cross-sectional study is to evaluate the trends in routine checkup within the last year associated with exposure to a hurricane. We compared Puerto Rico (2017 Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria), Texas (2017 Hurricane Harvey), and Florida (2017 Hurricane Irma, Hurricane 2018 Michael) with states that had a category 1-2 hurricane make landfall from 2014 to 2019: Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We found that states impacted by a major hurricane in 2017 had a drop in routine checkup while the states that experienced a category 1-2 landfall did have a change in that year.

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Introduction: Despite having worse healthcare access and other social disadvantages, immigrants have, on average, better health outcomes than U.S.-born individuals.

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Objective: To assess changes in the availability of mental health crisis services in Puerto Rico relative to US states before and after Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

Data Sources/study Setting: National Mental Health Services Surveys conducted in 2016 and 2020.

Study Design: Repeated cross-sectional design.

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The impacts of early pregnancy and young motherhood on everyday life, including interpersonal and individual behavior, are not well-known. Passive digital sensing on mobile technology including smartphones and passive Bluetooth beacons can yield information such as geographic movement, physical activity, and mother-infant proximity to illuminate behavioral patterns of a mother's everyday in Nepal. We contribute to mixed-methods research by triangulating passive sensing data (GPS, accelerometry, Bluetooth proximity) with multiple forms of qualitative data to characterize behavioral patterns and experiences of young motherhood in the first year postpartum.

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