Differences in Community Members' and Academics' Perceptions of Factors Contributing to Food Insecurity and Obesity among Mexican Immigrants: An Application of Concept Mapping.

Community-based participatory research has been identified as an approach to research where community members, organizational representatives, and academic researchers all participate in the research process. As research partners, community members and academics may find some common ground in identification of problems, but frequently differ in their perception of the cause of those problems and struggle with arriving at a "shared interpretation" of the data. Failure to account for these differences ultimately leads to issues with the design of interventions.

Using Concept Mapping within a Community-Academic Partnership to Examine Obesity among Mexican Immigrants.

Background: Weight gain is common following migration to a new country. Mexican immigrants have a disparate prevalence of overweight/obesity and food insecurity. Social stressors, such as unemployment, discrimination, and the threat of deportation, may fuel both food insecurity and weight gain in this population.

Acculturation stress and allostatic load among Mexican immigrant women.

Objectives: this case-control study compared levels of stress and allostatic load (AL) among Mexican women in the US ( n =19) and Mexico ( n = 40).

Method: measures of stress included the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale (HWSSS). A composite measure of 8 indicators of AL (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio, total cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1C), triglycerides and C-reactive protein) was calculated.

Parks as Social and Cultural Spaces Among U.S.- and Foreign-Born Latinas.

Parks provide opportunities for people to engage in activities that can promote physical and emotional well-being. Using focus groups and personal interviews conducted in select neighborhoods of a Northeastern city with a high rate of obesity, we examined perceptions of barriers and facilitators regarding the use of parks and park features that would promote physical activity among Latina women ( N = 39). Foreign-born Latinas emphasized the environmental characteristics of parks and the types of amenities that can support preferred cultural and social activities, while U.

Delivery of culturally competent care to children with cancer and their families--the Latino experience.

This article discusses selected cultural factors such as language and interpretation services, beliefs, health care practices, and communication styles of Latino families that can increase and enhance the ability of nurses to work with a child with cancer and his or her family. Suggestions for research and clinical intervention are presented.

Barriers to preventive health care for young children.

Purpose: To review the literature on barriers to availability, access, and utilization of preventive health care for young children three to five years of age and their families and to discuss the role of nurse practitioners (NPs) in future research, education, and practice in this area.

Data Sources: A comprehensive literature search was conducted of online material and CINAHL and Medline (CD-ROM 1990 to present). In addition, experts in this area were asked to recommend extra reading materials.