Dataset Information

Peace in Guatemala and Immigrant Health in the United States.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The civil war between the indigenous Mayans and other Guatemalans lasted for 36 years, killed civilians, decimated villages, and resulted in many refugees. The Guatemalan Peace Agreement of 1996 aimed to alleviate the ongoing conflict. Studies of peace agreements more typically evaluate local political outcomes while neglecting global health outcomes. OBJECTIVE:Our research quantified associations between pre-migration exposure to the peace agreement in Guatemala and the post-migration health status of Guatemalan immigrants in the United States. METHODS:We used chi-square tests to compare the distribution of health status before and after peace. We used ordered probit regressions to estimate associations between peace in Guatemala and health in the United States, conditional on the observed distributions of age, age squared, age cubed, and linear time trends before and after peace. FINDINGS:The study sample included 4,115 female and 5,282 male Guatemalan immigrants between the ages of 15 and 85. The mean age was 38.8 years for females (standard deviation, 14.2) and 35.4 years for males (standard deviation, 12.6). Chi-square tests found statistically significant differences in the distribution of health status before and after the peace agreement, for females (P < .001) and males (P < .001). In unadjusted results, the peace agreement was associated with a 7.3 percentage point increase in excellent post-migration health for females (95% confidence interval, 4.9 to 9.8) and a 6.0 percentage point increase for males (95% confidence interval, 3.8 to 8.2). In adjusted results, we found that the peace agreement was associated with a 6.1 percentage point increase in excellent post-migration health for females (95% confidence interval, 0.8 to 11.4) and a 5.5-percentage point increase for males (95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 10.0). CONCLUSIONS:The peace agreement in Guatemala was associated with statistically significant improvements in the health status of Guatemalan immigrants to the United States.

SUBMITTER: Green JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6748172 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Peace in Guatemala and Immigrant Health in the United States.

Green Jeremy C JC Boakye Eric Adjei EA Schoening Amanda A Vaughn Michael G MG

Annals of global health 20181105 4

<h4>Background</h4>The civil war between the indigenous Mayans and other Guatemalans lasted for 36 years, killed civilians, decimated villages, and resulted in many refugees. The Guatemalan Peace Agreement of 1996 aimed to alleviate the ongoing conflict. Studies of peace agreements more typically evaluate local political outcomes while neglecting global health outcomes.<h4>Objective</h4>Our research quantified associations between pre-migration exposure to the peace agreement in Guatemala and th ...[more]

PMID: 30779520

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Project description:BackgroundHaitians immigrate to the United States for many reasons, including the opportunity to escape political violence. The extant literature on Haitian immigrant health focuses on post-migration, rather than pre-migration, environments and experiences. Objective: In this study, we analyze health outcomes data from a nationally representative sample of Haitian immigrants in the United States from 1996 to 2015. We estimate age-adjusted associations between pre-migration residence in Haiti during the repressive regimes and generalized terror of Francois and Jean-Claude Duvalier, who ran Haiti from 1957 to 1986.MethodsWe used ordered probit regression models to quantify age-adjusted associations between the duration of pre-migration residence in Haiti during the Duvalier regime, and the distribution of post-migration health status among Haitian immigrants in the United States. Findings: Our study sample included 2,438 males and 2,800 females ages 15 and above. The mean age of males was 43.5 (standard deviation, 15.5) and the mean age of females was 44.7 (standard deviation, 16.6). Each additional decade of pre-migration residence in Haiti during the Duvalier regime is associated with a 2.9 percentage point decrease (95% confidence interval 0.6 to 5.3) in excellent post-migration health for males, and a 2.8 percentage point decrease (95% confidence interval, 0.8 to 4.8) for females. Within the subsample of Haitian immigrants with any pre-migration residence in Haiti during the Duvalier regime, each additional decade since the regime is associated with a 3.3 percentage point increase (95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 5.5) in excellent post-migration health for males, and a 2.3 percentage point increase (95% confidence interval, 0.5 to 4.1) for females.ConclusionsOverall, we found statistically significant and negative associations between the Duvalier regime and the post-migration distribution of health status 10 to 57 years later. We found statistically significant and positive associations between the length of time since the Duvalier regime and post-migration health.

Project description:BackgroundWhile many researchers document the immediate and localized health effects of armed conflicts on combatants are well documented in the literature, less is known about the effects of armed conflict on individuals who have subsequently migrated elsewhere. Objective: This study aims to estimate associations between pre-migration armed conflict in Central America and post-migration health in the United States.MethodsWe created a new dataset that combines information on armed conflicts in Central America and immigrant health in the United States. We used ordered probit regressions to estimate age-adjusted associations between pre-migration armed conflict and post-migration health.FindingsThe study sample of Central American immigrants included 15,563 females and 16,236 males between the ages 15 and 69. The mean age was 37.2 years (standard deviation, 11.6 years) for females and 35.5 years (standard deviation, 11.2 years) for males. After adjusting for age, pre-migration armed conflict was associated with a 8.6 percentage point decrease in excellent health for females (95% confidence interval, 6.0 to 11.1), and a 7.3 percentage point decrease for males (95% confidence interval, 4.0 to 10.7). Each decade of pre-migration armed conflict was associated a 2.9-percentage point decrease in excellent health for females (95% confidence interval, 2.0 to 3.8) and a 1.6-percentage point decrease for males (95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 2.6). For those individuals exposed to armed conflict, each decade since the most recent armed conflict was associated with a 1.5 percentage point increase in excellent health for females (95% confidence interval, 0.4 to 2.5). For males, the average marginal effect of decades since last conflict was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval, -0.001 to 0.002).ConclusionsPre-migration armed conflict in Central America is associated with decreases in excellent post-migration health in the United States. The effects of armed conflict are cumulative and fade over time for females.

Dataset Information

Peace in Guatemala and Immigrant Health in the United States.

Publications

Peace in Guatemala and Immigrant Health in the United States.

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