Engaging Latino Families About COVID-19 Vaccines: A Qualitative Study Conducted in Oregon, USA

Objectives Latinos are disproportionately vulnerable to severe COVID-19 due to workplace exposure, multigenerational households, and existing health disparities. Rolling out COVID-19 vaccines among vulnerable Latinos is critical to address disparities. This study explores vaccine perceptions of Latino families to inform culturally centered strategies for vaccine dissemination. Method Semistructured telephone interviews with Latino families (22 mothers and 24 youth, 13–18 years old) explored COVID-19 vaccine perceptions including (1) sources of information, (2) trust of vaccine effectiveness and willingness to get vaccinated, and (3) access to the vaccine distribution. We identified thematic patterns using immersion–crystallization. Results We found that (1) 41% expressed optimism and willingness to receive the vaccine coupled with concerns about side effects; (2) 45% expressed hesitancy or would refuse vaccination based on mistrust, myths, fear of being used as “guinea pigs,” and the perceived role of politics in vaccine development; (3) families “digested” information gathered from social media, the news, and radio through intergenerational communication; and (4) participants called for community-led advocacy and “leading by example” to dispel fear and misinformation. Optimistic participants saw the vaccine as a way to protect their families, allowing youth to return to schools and providing safer conditions for frontline essential workers. Conclusions Culturally centered vaccine promotion campaigns may consider the Latino family unit as their target audience by providing information that can be discussed among parents and youth, engaging a range of health providers and advocates that includes traditional practitioners and community health workers, and disseminating information at key venues, such as schools, churches, and supermarkets.

Parental Nativity and Familial Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Minority Latinx Youth

Accepting and sharing about oneself as a sexual and gender minority (SGM) individual is complex. This is even more complex for individuals who identify as both SGM and Latino because they possess more than one minoritized identity. As a result, SGM Latino youth are more susceptible to higher levels of stress, which if not effectively managed, can lead to homelessness, anxiety and depression, and substance abuse. Latino family members find it difficult to learn how to positively interact with their SGM family member (e.g., in the early phases of coming out). In this quantitative survey study, researchers examined survey data collected from 1,877 Latino youth concerning home experiences, health, identity, and parental nativity. Data were drawn from the LGBTQ National Teen Survey, an online, anonymous comprehensive survey designed to advance understanding of the experiences of SGM adolescents (13-17 years of age). The survey, developed and distributed by the Human Rights Campaign, examined perceptions of familial acceptance regarding SGM identity during youth. Significant relationships were found between family acceptance, sexual orientation, and parental nativity (birthplace of parents in- or outside of the United States). The findings provide for a rich discussion about the implications for helping Latino SGM youth and educating Latino family members.

CuidaTXT: A Text Message Dementia-Caregiver Intervention for Latinos

Latino family caregivers of people with dementia have low access to caregiver support. Text messaging holds potential to dramatically enhance the reach of caregiver support interventions among Latinos. This presentation will describe the CuidaTXT Project, with a special emphasis on approach to recruitment and community engagement to achieve the objectives of designing and testing the first dementia caregiver-support text message intervention for Latinos. Based on the Stress Process Framework, CuidaTXT incorporates social support and coping components including AD education, problem-solving skills training, social network support, care management and referral to community resources via tailored two-way messaging. Engagement in CuidaTXT benefited from multi-source recruitment efforts in the Latino community-network built over a three-year period. The network is comprised of senior, religious and community centers, the local media, clinics, a Latino registry and a dementia health navigation service. This presentation will describe processes for assembling and engaging the network for CuidaTXT.

FAMILY CONFLICT: A WELL KEPT SECRET IN LATINO DEMENTIA CAREGIVING

The number of Latino older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) could increase more than six-fold, from fewer than 200,000 in 2004 to more than 1.3 million by 2050 . One-third of Hispanic households report having at least one family caregiver (36%). 63% of Latino family caregivers are in high burden situations compared to 51% of non-Latino caregivers. Although in recent years research with Latino caregivers has increased, studies examining the family as a unit in a culture in which familismo is a central value, remain limited. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of Latino families caring for loved ones living with ADRD along the illness trajectory. Group interviews were conducted with families caring for individuals in different stages of dementia. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed in the source language by bilingual investigators. In contrast to the numerous positive aspects of caregiving reported by individual Latino caregivers in previous studies, preliminary analysis of family group interviews revealed predominantly negative perceptions of the family caregiving experience. Families reported conflict between family members, feelings of resentment, lack of family member involvement, and uneven distribution of caregiving duties. The complex nature of fulfilling family duties as dictated by familismo appears to have idealistic and realistic consequences for families. Further exploration of Latino family dynamics in the context of dementia caregiving is needed.

Leadership for Youth Empowerment Within a Family-Based Community Program

This article examines the perceptions of students who observed their adult family members’ participation and also participated in Connection and Access through Technology (CAtT), a family-oriented community-based program that taught technology skills to adult family members of school-aged children. This qualitative study applies conceptions of empowerment, for youth and community settings, to understand how program structures promoted immigrant Latino family members’ empowerment. In CAtT, parents gained technology skills, which they applied to their daily lives and to their children’s schooling, and developed leadership skills. Students experienced a sense of belonging, agency, competence, and leadership through increasing technology skills and having opportunities to contribute to the program, including through teaching others. Witnessing positive experiences of adult family members in the program also represented possibilities for children’s personal successes. Findings suggest that leaders’ ability to recognize and employ nontraditional parental involvement that builds on families’ cultural characteristics results in fostering student empowerment. Exposure to programs such as CAtT, which empower Latino immigrant families and which have the potential to alter traditional structures, is essential in the development of leaders for social justice and culturally responsive leadership.