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Keller BA, Skubic J, Betancourt-Garcia M, Ignacio RC, Radowsky JS, Tyroch AH, Lascano CP, Joseph B, Stewart C, Moore FO, Costantini TW, Rizzo JA, Paul JS, Galindo RM, Silva A, Coimbra R, Berndtson AE. Understanding the burden of traumatic injuries at the United States-Mexico border: A scoping review of the literature. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 2023; 95:276-284. [PMID: 36872517 DOI: 10.1097/ta.0000000000003920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT The US-Mexico border is the busiest land crossing in the world and faces continuously increasing numbers of undocumented border crossers. Significant barriers to crossing are present in many regions of the border, including walls, bridges, rivers, canals, and the desert, each with unique features that can cause traumatic injury. The number of patients injured attempting to cross the border is also increasing, but significant knowledge gaps regarding these injuries and their impacts remain. The purpose of this scoping literature review is to describe the current state of trauma related to the US-Mexico border to draw attention to the problem, identify knowledge gaps in the existing literature, and introduce the creation of a consortium made up of representatives from border trauma centers in the Southwestern United States, the Border Region Doing Research on Trauma Consortium. Consortium members will collaborate to produce multicenter up-to-date data on the medical impact of the US-Mexico border, helping to elucidate the true magnitude of the problem and shed light on the impact cross-border trauma has on migrants, their families, and the US health care system. Only once the problem is fully described can meaningful solutions be provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin A Keller
- From the Department of Surgery (B.A.K., R.C.I.), Division of Pediatric Surgery, Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, California; Department of Surgery (J.S., A.S.), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, Texas; Department of Trauma (J.S., M.B.-G.), DHR Health, Edinburg, Texas; Department of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (J.S.R., J.A.R.), Brooke Army Medical Center, JBSA Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas; Department of Surgery (A.H.T.), Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, Texas; Department of Surgery (C.P.L.), South Texas Health System, McAllen, Texas; Department of Surgery (B.J., C.S.), University of Arizona-Tucson, Tucson, Arizona; Department of Surgery (F.O.M.), John Peter Smith Health, Fort Worth, Texas; Department of Surgery (T.W.C., A.E.B.), Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California; Department of Surgery (J.S.P.), Division of Acute Care Surgery, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Department of Surgery (R.M.G.), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen, Texas; and Department of Surgery (R.C.), Riverside University Health System Medical Center, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California
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Ornelas IJ, Yamanis TJ, Ruiz RA. The Health of Undocumented Latinx Immigrants: What We Know and Future Directions. Annu Rev Public Health 2020; 41:289-308. [PMID: 32237989 PMCID: PMC9246400 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Undocumented Latinx immigrants experience unique factors prior to migration, during migration, and after migration that shape their health. Our review summarizes the limited but growing literature highlighting how exposure to trauma, immigration enforcement, changes to social networks, and discrimination negatively affect the mental and physical health of undocumented Latinx immigrants. We also discuss how policies and social ties can promote their health. We focus on areas of particular concern, including health care, mental health, and HIV. Future research should use interdisciplinary approaches and intersectional frameworks to understand and address health inequities. Conducting research with undocumented Latinx immigrant communities requires community engagement, assurance of confidentiality, and creative recruitment and retention strategies. Recommendations for public health practice include investing in community health centers and organizations to ensure access to health and social services; presenting results with sufficient contextualization to interpret their generalizability; and advocating for federal-, state-, and local-level policy changes that reduce the negative health consequences associated with being undocumented.
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Affiliation(s)
- India J Ornelas
- Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA; ,
| | - Thespina J Yamanis
- School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC 20016-8071, USA;
| | - Raymond A Ruiz
- Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA; ,
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Military Weapon Injury Among Illegal Immigrants at the Southern Border of Israel: A Single Level I Trauma Center Series. J Immigr Minor Health 2016; 19:1420-1426. [PMID: 27318937 DOI: 10.1007/s10903-016-0447-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
This article describes the characteristics of injuries of illegal immigrants admitted to a Level I trauma center after being shot at the southern border of Israel. This is a retrospective descriptive study. Some of the variables were compared to a group of soldiers who sustained penetrating injury at the same region where the illegal migrant were injured. The study includes 162 patients. The lower body absorbed a higher percentage of the injuries (61 %). The hospitalization time is longer for the migrant patients compared to the soldiers (13 ± 2 vs. 3 ± 0.3 days p = 0.0001). This study on wounded immigrants shows that a conjoint military and civilian system can result in favourable outcomes. The manuscript is an attempt to bring this unique situation, its type of injuries, and the difficulties of the health system in coping with it, to the notice of all authorities that may address a similar challenge.
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Servan-Mori E, Leyva-Flores R, Xibille CI, Torres-Pereda P, Garcia-Cerde R. Migrants Suffering Violence While in Transit Through Mexico: Factors Associated with the Decision to Continue or Turn Back. J Immigr Minor Health 2013; 16:53-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s10903-012-9759-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Androff DK, Tavassoli KY. Deaths in the desert: the human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. SOCIAL WORK 2012; 57:165-173. [PMID: 23038878 DOI: 10.1093/sw/sws034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Many would acknowledge that immigration is a major issue in the United States and that immigration reform should be a priority. However, there is little attention to the human rights crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border. As a result of tightened border security since 1994, it is estimated that over 5,000 migrants have died in the Sonoran desert. The criminalization of immigration has resulted in a human rights crisis in three areas: (1) the rise of deaths and injuries of migrants crossing the border in harsh and remote locations, (2) the use of mass hearings to prosecute apprehended migrants, and (3) abuses of migrants in immigration detention. These policies and practices have serious repercussions for the affected vulnerable population. Despite recent legislation designed to discourage undocumented immigration, such as Arizona's Senate Bill 1070, the deterrence strategy has not diminished migration--it has only increased the suffering and deaths of migrants. Humanitarian groups are working to prevent more deaths but also have been targeted for criminalization. The profession's ethics compel social workers to work with humanitarian organizations to prevent more deaths and to advocate for humane immigration reform.
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Affiliation(s)
- David K Androff
- School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA.
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Waterman SH, Escobedo M, Wilson T, Edelson PJ, Bethel JW, Fishbein DB. A new paradigm for quarantine and public health activities at land borders: opportunities and challenges. Public Health Rep 2009; 124:203-11. [PMID: 19320361 DOI: 10.1177/003335490912400207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Quarantine Stations at Ports of Entry: Protecting the Public's Health focused almost exclusively on U.S. airports and seaports, which served 106 million entries in 2005. IOM concluded that the primary function of these quarantine stations (QSs) should shift from providing inspection to providing strategic national public health leadership. The large expanse of our national borders, large number of crossings, sparse federal resources, and decreased regulation regarding conveyances crossing these borders make land borders more permeable to a variety of threats. To address the health challenges related to land borders, the QSs serving such borders must assume unique roles and partnerships to achieve the strategic leadership and public health research roles envisioned by the IOM. In this article, we examine how the IOM recommendations apply to the QSs that serve the land borders through which more than 319 million travelers, immigrants, and refugees entered the U.S. in 2005.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen H Waterman
- Quarantine and Border Health Services Branch, Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Preparedness, Detection, and Control of Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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