USMex (United States-Mexico) Unidos por Salud

The University of California, Riverside Center for Healthy Communities (CHC) and investigators in the US-México Border Health Commission carried out a one-year project funded by the Programa de Investigación en Migración y Salud (PiMSA) to examine the context of healthcare decisions for Mexican migrants in the United States. This project identified barriers to healthcare service use for migrants in rural areas of the US. Through the building of bi-national partnership with investigators, service providers, and policy makers in the Mexican Ministry of Health, we found ways to address barriers to healthcare service use for this population of Mexican migrants.

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Findings from the USMex Unidos por Salud Project

Eighty-two community members participated in in-home meetings, similar to focus groups, and shared their perspective on community health priorities and barriers to access healthcare services for such priorities. Most were mono-lingual Spanish speakers from Mexico.

USMex: Unidos por Salud identified the following community health priorities:

Mental health
Substance use and abuse
Childhood health

USMex Unidos por Salud Project also identified the following barriers to access healthcare services:

Formation of a monthly community advisory board
Lack of hospitals and urgent care
Lack of specialty care
Limited evening and weekend service hours
Limited bilingual healthcare services
Limited medical insurance coverage
Fear of border patrol and deportation
Few parks and recreational activities for children and adolescents

You can find more information in our English and Spanish policy briefs.

Project Leaders

Ann Cheney - Principal investigator
Ana Maria Lopez Jaramillo – Co-principal investigator
Gudelia Rangel Gomez- Co-investigator
Maria Pozar- Community lead

What's Happening Now?

Findings from the Unidos por Salud project informed a study on childhood asthma in children along the Salton Sea. Funded by the UCR SOM Dean’s Innovation award, this pilot project engages the community around the Salton Sea in southern California’s Eastern Coachella Valley to characterize childhood asthma, healthcare service use, and treatments. Four trained promotoras are collecting 160 surveys with caregivers of children with asthma or respiratory distress.

Listen to a radio interview about the study here (in Spanish)

Findings also informed a series of no and low-cost mobile clinics that are being implemented in partnership with Health to Hope Clinics in the eastern valley. These clinics provide bilingual primary care services and screenings and treatments for asthma, mental health, and substance use.

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