Recent Latinx Immigrants to Miami-Dade County, Florida: A Characterization of Pre- and Post-Immigration Travel

Recent Latino immigrants to Miami-Dade County, Florida: Impaired driving behaviors during the initial years after immigration and the pandemic lockdown

INTRODUCTION

Typically, recent Latino immigrants (RLIs) experience a decline in driving while impaired (DWI) rates soon after immigration, largely due to limited access to vehicles. Such a transitional period offers a window of opportunity for intervention for RLIs at risk of engaging in DWI and riding with an impaired driver (RWID). This manuscript examines the rates of DWI, RWID, and driving while impaired by drugs (DWID) among RLIs upon arrival to Miami/Dade County (MDC), Florida.

METHODS

Collected between 2018 and 2021, data originates from a longitudinal study examining self-reported drinking and driving trajectories among 540 RLIs to MDC. At baseline retrospective pre-immigration data were obtained simultaneously with first-year post-immigration data. Two follow-up surveys conducted one year apart (N=531 and N=522), collect data on RLIs initial 3 years in the United States.

RESULTS

Pre- to post-immigration trajectories for mean number of drinks per month (d/m) revealed a "U-shaped" curve: 18.3 d/m, 13.9 d/m, 10.4 d/m, 12.9 d/m, and 16.4 d/m, from pre-immigration (T0), first year (T1), second year before COVID (T2-BC) and during the pandemic lockdown (T2-DC), and third year in the United States (T3). The use of illicit drugs showed a constant decline, from 14.6% at T0 to 2.1% at T3. The prevalence of DWI at T1 was significantly lower compared to rates in the country of origin (T0) and continued declining through T3. DWID rates remained low across the assessment period. RWID was significantly more prevalent than DWI across all study time points.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the relatively low prevalence of DWI, drug use, and DWID among the RLIs during their initial years in the United States is encouraging, the surge in alcohol use at T3 warns about the need for interventions to prevent increases in DWI.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Findings from the present study point to an opportunity to develop early interventions to prevent the escalation of impaired driving among RLIs to MDC.

Early trajectories of cigarette and ENDS use among young adult recent Latino immigrants to U.S

Background: Recent Latino immigrants (RLIs) to the U.S. have shown high smoking rates during their first year since arrival, raising concern about future escalation of tobacco use.Objective: To examine trajectories of cigarette and Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use among RLIs from pre-immigration (T0) through their first (T1) and second (T2) year in the U.S.Methods: Data originated from a longitudinal study of 540 (50% females) RLIs aged 18-34. Inclusion criteria was residing in Miami/Dade County (MDC), and having immigrated from a Latin American country within the past year. Trajectories were identified by using the Proc Traj procedure (SAS©, v 9.4).Results: Rates of cigarette use per month declined from 11.8 days/month in T0 to 4.9 d/m in T2. Rates for ENDS use however, increased from T0 (1.1 d/m) to T1 (1.8 d/m) and then lowered back to 0.9 d/m in T2. Four separate cigarette and e-cigarette use trajectories were identified. Only one of them showed increase in cigarette (10.6% of RLIs), and ENDS use (4.5% of RLIs). Being male, and not completing high school were significant factors in explaining smoking trajectories. Being younger than 30 years old was largely associated with ENDS use. No evidence of a substitution effect between cigarette and ENDS use was found.Discussion/Conclusions: Interventions to discourage tobacco use among Latino immigrants should begin early in the immigration process, aimed to preserve initial reductions and dissuade those at risk of increased tobacco use overtime.

Recent Latinx immigrants to Miami/Dade County (FL): Travel patterns before, during, and one year after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

INTRODUCTION

Understanding the transportation needs of immigrants is crucial for the design and promotion of safe, equitable, and sustainable living environments. This study examines the transportation patterns from a sample of Recent Latinx Immigrants (RLIs) upon arrival to Miami/Dade Co (MDC), Florida.

METHODS

Collected between 2018 and 2021, data came from a longitudinal study examining drinking and driving trajectories among 540 RLIs to MDC. Retrospective pre-immigration data (T0) were obtained simultaneously with the first-year post-immigration data (T1). Follow up surveys were conducted one year later, before (T2-BC) or during a pandemic lockout (T2-DC), and two years later (T3). Descriptive and repeated measures mixed-model regression were used to examine the data.

RESULTS

Driving declined from T0 to T1, although remained higher than previously reported for other locations. Not having a valid driver's license was the main reason for the decline. The initial reduction in driving was paralleled by an increase in the use of transit, riding as passengers in private vehicles, and walking. A year later (T2), as RLIs' income and access to a driver's license grew, driving rates increased (even during the pandemic lockdown), while the use of other transportation modes decreased. A year after the pandemic lockdown (T3), driving as well as the use of other transportation modes receded. Reasons for this decline are unclear.

CONCLUSIONS

RLIs reported elevated driving rates upon their arrival to MDC. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have altered the RLIs' transportation patterns, provoking an overall decline in mobility that lasted even after the pandemic lockdown ceased.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Transportation planners working on developing safe and equitable transportation systems in MDC should: (1) identify and address barriers to the use of transportation modes other than driving by RLIs; and (2) understand reasons for the broad decline in transportation modes after the pandemic lockdown.