Noventa Millas: Migration history, genomic ancestry, and health outcomes among Cuban refugees/immigrants and Cuban-Americans in the United States

Open Access
- Author:
- Hernandez, Maggie
- Graduate Program:
- Anthropology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 12, 2024
- Committee Members:
- Tim Ryan, Program Head/Chair
Lindsay Fernandez-Rhodes, Outside Unit & Field Member
Mary Shenk, Dissertation Co-Advisor
George Perry, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Mark Shriver, Major Field Member - Keywords:
- anthropology
genomics
biocultural anthropology
Latiné
mixed-methods
community based research - Abstract:
- As a growing U.S. ethnic minority, Latiné populations have traditionally been studied as a monolith, with the implicit assumption that individuals migrating from different countries have similar life experiences due to common language. Additionally, it has been well documented that Indigenous, Black, and Latiné populations face more adverse health outcomes relative to non-Hispanic whites in the United States. In order to address how health outcomes vary within Latiné groups, research efforts would benefit from focusing on understanding the variability of genomic ancestry and life experiences from first, second, and third generation immigrants from a single country of origin. The purpose of this dissertation project was to integrate traditionally separate methodological approaches to understanding health outcomes by comprehensively investigating the context under which adverse health manifests within one such heterogeneous immigrant ethnic group. To do this, I worked with my own community of Cuban refugees/immigrants living in the United States that came to this country during distinct sociopolitical conditions both in Cuba and in the United States. In Chapter 2, I worked with existing data through the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLASS). In Chapter 3, I designed and conducted my own project entitled the Cuban Immigration and Health Study (CIHS). In Chapter 4, I hosted Community Research Updates (CRUs) to provide opportunities for collaboration and increased transparency throughout the research process for the CIHS. Through this work, I show that there is marked variation in health outcomes and social experiences based on the social context under which different Cuban refugee/migration waves arrived in the United States and interpreted these data with the ongoing collaboration of supporters and participants of the study. This work documents an approach to conducting mixed-methods, community-based research and the richness this approach can provide for future scientific inquiry.