MCH Student:

Kathryn Goerdt

Date of Defense:

May 13, 2021

Abstract:

Centro Tyrone Guzman is a Latinx-led community organization for the Latinx community that has culturally relevant programs for early childhood to older age. Centro has a bilingual Montessori program that serves around 30 families, but the families and teachers are requesting Centro to create a bilingual, bicultural home visiting program that starts earlier for families to help support healthy development at home. Although Latinx women have higher poverty levels and lower educational levels, they generally have similar birth outcomes compared to the general population. However, the Latinx population is complex. Unfortunately, this Latino Paradox seems to diminish as acculturation or time in the United States increases. It is important to understand the differences in these populations to understand how we can increase protective factors unique to this population that mitigate risk of adverse birth outcomes. Healthy diets, higher levels of social support and familismo and earlier initiation of prenatal care could be protective factors that help explain the Latinx birth paradox, but we need more research to better understand how these protective factors work for this complex population. Home visiting programs that are culturally relevant for this multifaceted population are one viable option, but these programs must be tailored to the specific cultural needs and strengths of this community with input from the families that will be benefiting from the program.