Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Introduction: Mexican immigrants and other low-income populations in the United States face reduced access to natural environments, limiting their opportunities both to secure a wide range of associated health advantages and to participate fully in environmental stewardship and protection efforts. This ethnographic study was designed to investigate Mexicans' access to and engagement with natural environments over the course of international migration from Mexico to southern Arizona to help fill important gaps in our understanding of the intersectional nature barriers faced in this population. Methods: = 10) to explore nature barriers in a current and historical context. Analysis was conducted utilizing a One Health adaptation of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities research framework. Results: Our analysis revealed barriers across all six levels of influence (planetary, interspecies, society, community, interpersonal, and individual) and multiple domains, including aridification of land, international migration, disruption to interspecies' relationships, discrimination, lack of time and energy, and emotional distress tied to immigration status. Discussion: This article confirms multilevel barriers identified in the literature as well as highlights additional barriers not previously recorded. This suggests the need for further research and especially health interventions geared to increase immigrants' access to nature to improve their health and heighten their ability to serve as effective advocates and stewards of the natural world.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health
Authors: Rebecca M. Crocker, Josselyne Diomara Sánchez, Gabriel Alvin Cruz
Institution: University of Arizona
Language: English
Topic: Urban Green Space and Health
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W4416227224