Advancing Research Education on the Health of New Americans (AREHNA)

About This Grant

The social determinants of health (SDOH) are critical for understanding the intersections of the multitude of individual, interpersonal, community, and societal-level factors that influence a person’s health. Understanding the SDOH in the context of the biological, behavioral, physical/built environment, sociocultural environment, and health system domains of influence is another critical skill to build. New Americans (NA) are persons who have come to live and work in the United States (US) and comprise 15% of the population, 77% of whom are naturalized citizens or lawfully present. They have two unique SDOH factors that will further influence and add complexity to understanding associated health outcomes: Nativity and the migration experience. Nativity—meaning the country of origin of a person who has migrated—is a recognized SDOH. The migration experience is not included as an SDOH, yet it will strongly influence a person’s health outcomes and those of their family members as the nature of voluntary vs. involuntary migration produces differential impacts on health. Many do not speak English well enough to communicate safely in health care settings, which will also affect their health outcomes. Overall, the SDOH specific to NAs are understudied and yet critically important for ensuring healthy populations across the lifespan. There is critical need to build research capacity specific to the social determinants of the health of NAs amongst nurse researchers. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the proposed 3-year R25 will train up to 30 early-career nurse scientists (<5 years into a research-intensive position) to study the SDOH within the context of NA populations. The hybrid 13-week program (1 week in-person, 12 weeks virtual) will help trainees to understand the mechanisms across levels and domains of influence that lead to variations in the SDOH and health outcomes of NAs when compared to their US-born counterparts and develop solutions to address them. Experts from the National Immigration Law Center and the Migration Policy Institute will contribute. To ensure the long-term success of participants, sustained mentoring beyond program completion will occur throughout the 3-year program and develop the mentoring skills of alumni participants. Program graduates will also form a new national network of nurse researchers who specialize in research with NA populations. They will help expand national capacity for research on the SDOH of NA populations as well as nurse researchers with those skills. Materials developed from the program will also be made publicly available for use with other nursing and health professions educational programs. The program’s goals help achieve all facets of the strategic plan for the National Institute for Nursing Research.