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Screening for Immigration-Related Health Concerns in a Federally Qualified Health Center Serving a Diverse Latinx Community: A Mixed Methods Study

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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Letter to the Editor to this article was published on 24 April 2020

Abstract

Immigration-related concerns can impact health and are an important consideration while caring for a multinational Latinx immigrant community. Patients and caregivers waiting for a non-urgent clinic appointment were randomly screened with one of two social risk screening tools. One tool included a question about “any health or stability concerns related to immigration status.” The other tool did not include an immigration health question. Immediately following, respondents were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview regarding their social risk screening experience. 201 screens were completed, and 20 patients agreed to an interview. There were no significant sociodemographic differences between groups. Of those screened for immigration, 11% reported a concern. In both arms, interviewees felt that social risk screening was acceptable in a clinic setting. Questions about immigration are timely, important, and relevant, and can be considered when implementing social assessments in communities where there are high levels of trust in providers.

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Funding

This work was funded from the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health award K12HD092535.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington St, Box #63, Boston, USA

    Elena Byhoff

  2. Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02111, USA

    Elena Byhoff & Amy M. LeClair

  3. Department of Family Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Emilia H. De Marchis & Laura Gottlieb

  4. Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Sophia Halperin-Goldstein & Keith Nokes

  5. Department of Family Medicine, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Keith Nokes

Authors
  1. Elena Byhoff
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  2. Emilia H. De Marchis
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  3. Laura Gottlieb
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  4. Sophia Halperin-Goldstein
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  5. Keith Nokes
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  6. Amy M. LeClair
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Correspondence to Elena Byhoff.

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There are no conflicts of interest to declare. This manuscript was reviewed by the Tufts Medical Center Institutional Review Board and was deemed exempt.

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Appendix 1: AHC Screener and FQHC Screener

Appendix 1: AHC Screener and FQHC Screener

figure a

FQHC Social Determinants of Health Screening Tool

figure b

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Byhoff, E., De Marchis, E.H., Gottlieb, L. et al. Screening for Immigration-Related Health Concerns in a Federally Qualified Health Center Serving a Diverse Latinx Community: A Mixed Methods Study. J Immigrant Minority Health 22, 988–995 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01005-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01005-6

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