Background

Policies of migration contention can interrupt the transit of people on the move, forcing them to remain in wait in non-destination countries. This liminal condition might impact negatively on migrants' mental health.

Aims

To assess the relationship between interrupted transit and common mental disorders (CMD; symptoms of depression or anxiety), among migrants in shelters in Tijuana, Mexico.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey conducted in November to December 2020 and February to April 2021. We assessed depressive symptoms with the Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D-7), and symptoms of anxiety with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2). We evaluated the association of being in interrupted transit (sent back from the United States to Mexico), as compared to having not crossed to the United States yet or planning to stay in Mexico, with having a CMD (either depressive or anxiety symptoms), as well as the association of other migration-related variables with CMD.

Results

Being in interrupted transit (OR = 1.74, 95% CI [1.12, 2.71]), and having experienced violence during transit (OR = 2.50, 95% CI [1.63, 3.82]) were associated with CMD.

Conclusions

Interrupted transit is a potential risk factor for mental health problems among migrants. Migration and public health policies should consider the mental health consequences of interrupted transit, and promote initiatives to address the mental health needs of migrants on the move.

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of PASOS SALUDABLES, a culturally tailored lifestyle intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes among Latino farmworkers, when implemented at large scale in the worksite.

Design

This study was a two-arm parallel group, cluster randomised controlled trial, where participants received either a twelve-session lifestyle intervention (intervention) or six-session leadership training (control) at their worksite. The intervention was delivered by Promotoras in Spanish. All sessions were conducted at the worksites (ranches) during meal breaks. Blinded, trained research assistants collected socio-demographic and outcome data (i.e. BMI as primary outcome and waist circumference, glycated Hb (HbA1c), cholesterol and blood pressure as secondary outcomes) at baseline and follow-up assessments (i.e. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 1·5 years).

Setting

Recruitment and intervention delivery occurred at twelve study ranches in Oxnard, California.

Participants

We enrolled farmworkers hired by a large berry grower company, who were ≥18 years old, spoke Spanish and were free of diabetes at screening.

Results

A total of 344 workers were enrolled in the intervention and 271 in the control group. The intervention resulted in attenuated increase of BMI over time; however, the difference in trend between groups was not significant (β = -0·01 for slope difference, P = 0·29). No significantly different trend by group was observed in secondary outcomes (P > 0·27).

Conclusions

The worksite intervention, implemented during meal breaks, did not reduce BMI or other clinical indicators. Nevertheless, this study supports the feasibility of recruiting and engaging the Latino farmworker population in workplace health promotion interventions.