Community-Engaged Research Project: Everett

Project Title

The Impact of Enhanced Immigration Enforcement on Immigrant Health

Funded by

Harvard Catalyst

Project Period

February 2009 – February 2010

Project description

What did you set out to do?

The goal of this community-based participatory research (CBPR) project was to figure out whether enhanced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity was affecting the health and health care of immigrants in Everett, MA. Specifically, the project sought to:

• Learn more about the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities on immigrant health through a series of focus groups, key informant interviews and a survey of health care providers.
• Develop a set of recommendations for that would inform government policy changes and local advocacy work.

What did you find?

• Immigrants in Everett are fearful of deportation. This gets in the way of their normal daily life, obtaining medical care, and affects mental health.
• Immigrants feel that local police in Everett are in collaboration with federal immigration officials. They think that this increases traffic stops for immigrants driving without a valid license or documentation.
• Concerns about immigration status and giving out personal information are barriers to accessing health care and applying for insurance.

What have you done/are you planning to do with your findings?

A set of recommendations to address health and integration of immigrants in Everett was developed. It has been used to prioritize local policy changes in Everett. Meanwhile, partners have begun to discuss focusing on youth.

How did you report your outcomes?

Project findings were presented at an Immigrant Health Forum in Everett. Reactions and recommendations were collected from over 100 people there. These findings have been reported to immigrant leaders in the community. Leaders are using them to develop local policy changes. Manuscripts are being prepared by all of the project partners to submit to scientific journals. Project findings have also been presented at various community and academic settings.

Collaborators and affiliations

Karen Hacker, MD MPH-Principal Investigator
Institute for Community Health, Harvard Medical School

Co-investigators

• Robert Marra, Everett Health Partnership, Cambridge Health Alliance
• Antonio Amaya, La Comunidad, Inc.
• Meg English, Everett Literacy Program
• Jackie Coogan, Joint Committee for Children's Health Care in Everett
• Mohamed Brahimi and Yacine Ibrahimi, Muslim American Cultural and Civic Association
• Philomene Pean, Immaculate Conception Church
• Sister Elisete Signor, Scalabrini Center, St. Anthony's Church
• Alex Pirie, Immigrant Service Providers Group/Health
• Carolyn Leung, Tufts University
• Rob Marlin, Cambridge Health Alliance
• Jocelyn Chu, Institute for Community Health
• Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Northeastern University

For more information

Karen Hacker: khacker@challiance.org
Institute for Community Health: www.icommunityhealth.org

Bob Marra: rmarra@challiance.org
Everett Health Partnership: http://www.challiance.org/comm_affairs/everett_comm_health.shtml