The overarching aim of Healthy People 2010 is eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. Children of Mexican descent are disproportionately represented within these disparities. One manner of eliminating health disparities in children of Mexican descent is to increase maternal health promoting practices. Maternal acculturation to mainstream American culture might have influence on the health promoting practices that women of Mexican descent use for the health promotion and protection of their children. The overall goals of the proposed research study are 1) to enhance the understanding of the maternal health promoting practices used by women of Mexican descent and 2) to explore how acculturation to U. S. culture influences maternal health promoting practices.
Specific Aims : 1) Explore and describe the maternal health promoting practices of women Mexican descent. 1a) Explore what folk customs practiced by women of Mexican descent are used to promote and protect the health of children. 1b) Explore health promoting practices commonly used in the U.S. i.e. immunizations, car seat use, etc. that are also used by women of Mexican descent to promote and protect the health of children. 2) Explore the influence of acculturation to U.S. culture has on maternal health promoting practices used by women of Mexican descent to promote and protect the health of children of Mexican descent. The achievement of the overall goals and specific aims will be accomplished by completing doctoral course work and dissertation research. The dissertation study design will be descriptive exploratory using ethnographic interviews and participant observation methods.
| Gallagher, Martina Raquel (2010) Maternal perspectives on lifestyle habits that put children of Mexican descent at risk for obesity. J Spec Pediatr Nurs 15:16-25 |
| Gallagher, Martina R; Reifsnider, Elizabeth; Gill, Sara (2009) Home-based injury prevention practices used by mothers of Mexican descent living in San Antonio, TX. Public Health Nurs 26:114-23 |
| Gallagher, Martina Raquel; Gill, Sara; Reifsnider, Elizabeth (2008) Child health promotion and protection among Mexican mothers. West J Nurs Res 30:588-605 |
