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Introduction: In collaboration with the Minnesota Hmong community, we have previously discovered significant differences in allele frequencies for key Single Nucleotide Variations (SNVs) within Very Important Pharmacogenes (VIPs) between Hmong and East Asians. Recognizing the potential clinical implications of these observed differences, we sought to validate these observations in a Hmong cohort residing in California, the state with the largest Hmong population in the US. Robust validation of these differences would affect motivation for clinicians treating individuals who identify as Hmong to consider pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing as a means to improve clinical decision making when using therapeutic agents in this unique population. Method: Guided by California Hmong community leaders and utilizing the basic approach of community-based participatory research, demographic, clinical information and a buccal swab was obtained from Hmong adults residing in California. A commercial PGx testing panel was performed on these samples and specific allele frequencies of interest were compared between California and Minnesota Hmong. Allele frequency differences between California Hmong, East Asians and Europeans, were also compared. Return-of-PGx-results and presentations of group data were made to members of the Hmong along with PGx educational sessions to help interpret the observations. Results: In 118 California Hmong who completed the study, the allele frequencies for SNV's were similar to previous Minnesota Hmong results. Furthermore, out of the 18 SNVs that were not previously reported in Hmong, allele frequencies were statistically different in 38% (7/18) of SNVs comparing California Hmong to East Asians, and in 77.8% (14/18) SNVs comparing California Hmong to Europeans. Conclusion: These results validate the original study's findings that Hmong people living in different US locations have similar allele frequencies for key PGx genes. Further, for many of these PGx genes, their allele frequencies are significantly different compared to either East Asians or Europeans. Clinicians should consider these important differences when prescribing medications for people who identify as Hmong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives We drew on fundamental cause theory and the weathering hypothesis to examine how discrimination influences aging for midlife and older adults in Canada. Methods Using nationally representative data, we assessed the associations between discrimination and pain and functional limitations among adults aged 45 years and older. Discrimination was measured using a modified version of the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Chi-square tests were performed to check for baseline differences in the dependent and key predictor variables by race. Logistic regression was used to estimate the associations of discrimination, race, and sense of belonging with pain and functional limitations, net of sociodemographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status. Results Indigenous respondents showed a clear health disadvantage , with higher rates of pain and functional limitations compared to Whites and Asians. Self-reported discrimination was also higher for Indigenous midlife and older adults than for their White and Asian age counterparts. Discrimination had a direct and robust association with pain (odds ratio [OR] 1.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31–1.87) and functional limitations (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.29–1.87). However, race moderated the impact of discrimination on functional limitations for Blacks. Finally, a strong sense of belonging to one's local community was protective against pain and functional limitations for all racial groups. Discussion Future research needs to further examine the impact of discrimination on Indigenous peoples' aging process. High rates of discrimination coupled with a greater burden of pain mean that Indigenous midlife and older adults may require additional and targeted health and social service resources to age successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transferring pregnant women out of their communities for childbirth continues to affect Inuit women living in Nunavik—Inuit territory in Northern Quebec. With estimates of maternal evacuation rates in the region between 14% and 33%, we examine how to support culturally safe birth for Inuit families when birth must take place away from home. Methods: A participatory research approach explored perceptions of Inuit families and their perinatal healthcare providers in Montreal for culturally safe birth, or "birth in a good way" in the context of evacuation, using fuzzy cognitive mapping. We used thematic analysis, fuzzy transitive closure, and an application of Harris' discourse analysis to analyze the maps and synthesize the findings into policy and practice recommendations. Results: Eighteen maps authored by 8 Inuit and 24 service providers in Montreal generated 17 recommendations related to culturally safe birth in the context of evacuation. Family presence, financial assistance, patient and family engagement, and staff training featured prominently in participant visions. Participants also highlighted the need for culturally adapted services, with provision of traditional foods and the presence of Inuit perinatal care providers. Stakeholder engagement in the research resulted in dissemination of the findings to Inuit national organizations and implementation of several immediate improvements in the cultural safety of flyout births to Montreal. Conclusions: The findings point toward the need for culturally adapted, family‐centered, and Inuit‐led services to support birth that is as culturally safe as possible when evacuation is indicated. Application of these recommendations has the potential to benefit Inuit maternal, infant, and family wellness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) play a significant role in hosting and supporting refugees. Refugees and asylum seekers in OECD countries may face unique challenges in accessing perinatal healthcare. These challenges can impact their use of and experience with perinatal health services leading to poor maternal and infant outcomes. This scoping review describes the general trends in perinatal health research among refugees/asylum seekers in OECD countries over the past fifty years (1970 to 2021) as well as summarizes their perinatal experience. Methods: Databases including Embase and Medline were searched using relevant key words for "refugee/ asylum seeker", "perinatal ", and " OECD countries.". Articles were excluded if they only involved economic migrants or internally displaced persons, conducted in non-OECD countries, only assessed health behaviors and practices during pregnancy (e.g., smoking), or were published in a language other than English. The final list of articles included 82 unique studies. Results: In the 40 years between 1970 and 2009, very few studies (n = 9) examined perinatal health among refugees/ asylum seekers in OECD countries. However, an increasing trend was observed over the past decade. Early studies (1980 to 2009) focused more on traditional perinatal outcomes; however, from 2010 onwards, studies related to perinatal experience were more likely to emerge in the global health literature. Access to timely prenatal care remains a challenge with failure to address the root causes of the problem in several OECD countries including those with a long history of hosting refugees. The limited availability of interpretation services and the lack of a patient-centered approach to care have also interfered with the perceived quality of care. In addition, perceived isolation and the limited social support experienced by this vulnerable population have negatively impacted their perinatal experiences in several OECD countries. Conclusion: Refugee/asylum seekers in OECD countries face a number of challenges during the perinatal period. Policy changes and further research are needed to address access barriers and identify specific interventions that can improve their well-being during this critical period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of prematurity (PTB) and small-for-gestational age (SGA) were compared between US-born and foreign-born non-Hispanic black women. Comparisons were also made between Sub-Saharan African-born and Caribbean-born black women and by maternal country of birth within the two regions. Comparisons were adjusted for sociodemographic, health behavioral and medical risk factors available on the birth record. Birth record data (2008) from all states (n = 27) where mother's country of birth was recorded were used. These data comprised 58 % of all singleton births to non-Hispanic black women in that year. Pearson Chi square and logistic regression were used to investigate variation in the rates of PTB and SGA by maternal nativity. Foreign-born non-Hispanic black women had significantly lower rates of PTB (OR 0.727; CI 0. 726, 0.727) and SGA (OR 0.742; CI 0.739-0.745) compared to US-born non-Hispanic black women in a fully adjusted model. Sub-Saharan African-born black women compared to Caribbean-born black women had significantly lower rates of PTB and SGA. Within each region, the rates of PTB and SGA varied by mother's country of birth. These differences could not be explained by adjustment for known risk factors obtained from vital records. Considerable heterogeneity in rates of PTB and SGA among non-Hispanic black women in the US by maternal nativity was documented and remained unexplained after adjustment for known risk factors. Keywords Preterm * Small-for-gestational-age * Nativity * Black, Introduction In the United States there is a pronounced and persistent racial/ethnic disparity in the rates of preterm (PTB) and small for gestational age (SGA) births with the highest rates [...]

This study examined the voting practices of Filipina marriage migrants in South Korea. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 66 women, we examine marriage migrant women's voting through the lens of cultural and performative citizenship. We focus on the gendered and ethnicized integration of marriage migrants into Korean families and in the larger society and how their marginalised social position shapes the women's voting practices. We identified three voting patterns – dependent, independent, and transitioned – that vary in their degrees of cultural and performative citizenship. We also unpack the characteristics or factors associated with each voting pattern that facilitated marriage migrants' ability to engage in performative citizenship; that is, to contest their marginalised status and exercise greater autonomy in their candidate choices. Our findings illustrate how viewing immigrant voting through the perspectives of cultural and performative citizenship provides nuanced insights about the meaning and practice of voting beyond its intrinsic function of political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic transfer hydrodeuteration of unactivated alkenes is challenging because of the requirement that chemically similar hydrogen and deuterium undergo selective insertion across a π‐bond. We now report a highly regioselective catalytic transfer hydrodeuteration of unactivated terminal alkenes across a variety of heteroatom‐ or heterocycle‐containing substrates. The base‐metal‐catalyzed reaction is also demonstrated on two complex natural products. Reaction studies indicate modular conditions that can also be extended to perform either an alkene transfer hydrogenation or transfer deuteration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines naturalization choices and processes among Filipina marriage migrants in South Korea. Drawing on interviews with 89 Filipina marriage migrants and nine of their spouses, we show how naturalization can become a site of bargaining where female marriage migrants strategize to maximize security and optimize their life options within a patriarchal host society. Citizenship is, for most marriage migrants, informally tied to their fulfillment of gendered expectations as wives, mothers and daughters-in-laws. As such, Filipina marriage migrants' political incorporation cannot be separated from their gendered performance in the family. We also examine how personal resources such as education and employment prospects influence migrants' bargaining potential. By focusing on the different social positions of and resources available to female marriage migrants, we show the complex ways in which both gender and human capital influences marriage migrants' legal and substantive citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large national representative survey, this study examines the effect of perceived religious discrimination, religiosity, and their interaction on life satisfaction. The results show that the negative effect of religious discrimination on life satisfaction is large and equivalent to the effects of some major life events such as widowhood and unemployment. Higher religiosity is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and tends to mitigate the negative effect of experiencing religious discrimination. Furthermore, although the prevalence of perceived religious discrimination varies across major religious faiths, its negative effect on life satisfaction is generally consistent. The implications of the findings for future research and theoretical development on religious discrimination and its associations with subjective well-being are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:Immigrants are typically healthier than the native-born population in the receiving country and also tend to be healthier than non-migrants in the countries of origin. This foreign-born health advantage has been referred to as the healthy immigrant effect (HIE). We examined evidence for the HIE in Canada. Design:We employed a systematic search of the literature on immigration and health and identified 78 eligible studies. We used a narrative method to synthesize the HIE across different stages of the life-course and different health outcomes within each stage. We also examined the empirical evidence for positive selection and duration effects – two common explanations of migrants’ health advantage and deterioration, respectively. Results:We find that the HIE appears to be strongest during adulthood but less so during childhood/adolescence and late life. A foreign-born health advantage is also more robust for mortality but less so for morbidity. The HIE is also stronger for more recent immigrants but further research is needed to determine the critical threshold for when migrants’ advantage disappears. Positive selection as an explanation for the HIE remains underdeveloped. Conclusions:There is an absence of a uniform foreign-born health advantage across different life-course stages and health outcomes in Canada. Nonetheless, it remains the case that the HIE characterizes the majority of contemporary migrants since Canada’s foreign-born population consists mostly of core working age adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transferring pregnant women out of their communities for childbirth continues to affect Inuit women living in Nunavik-Inuit territory in Northern Quebec. With estimates of maternal evacuation rates in the region between 14% and 33%, we examine how to support culturally safe birth for Inuit families when birth must take place away from home., Methods: A participatory research approach explored perceptions of Inuit families and their perinatal healthcare providers in Montreal for culturally safe birth, or "birth in a good way" in the context of evacuation, using fuzzy cognitive mapping. We used thematic analysis, fuzzy transitive closure, and an application of Harris' discourse analysis to analyze the maps and synthesize the findings into policy and practice recommendations., Results: Eighteen maps authored by 8 Inuit and 24 service providers in Montreal generated 17 recommendations related to culturally safe birth in the context of evacuation. Family presence, financial assistance, patient and family engagement, and staff training featured prominently in participant visions. Participants also highlighted the need for culturally adapted services, with provision of traditional foods and the presence of Inuit perinatal care providers. Stakeholder engagement in the research resulted in dissemination of the findings to Inuit national organizations and implementation of several immediate improvements in the cultural safety of flyout births to Montreal., Conclusions: The findings point toward the need for culturally adapted, family-centered, and Inuit-led services to support birth that is as culturally safe as possible when evacuation is indicated. Application of these recommendations has the potential to benefit Inuit maternal, infant, and family wellness., (© 2023 The Authors. Birth published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)