The NAHN Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is excited to announce the launch of the NAHN DEI Journal Club! Each month, the DEI Committee will recommend an article to encourage collective understanding and growth. Click below to read the featured articles. Want to discuss the articles each month? Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page!
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May 2023 - Mental Health Awareness Month
The Hispanic population in the United States has unique risk factors for mental health disparities compared to the general population. With the growing Hispanic population in the US, it is essential for us, as healthcare workers, to be able to identify, acknowledge, and understand these risk factors while also providing compassionate, appropriate, and culturally responsive nursing care. In this month’s DEI journal club, three articles have been chosen to highlight the special needs, challenges, and protective factors for the Hispanic population in the US related to mental health disparities, health seeking behaviors, and potentially effective interventions to improve mental health and mental health literacy. Additionally, Brenes (2023) gives us a closer look at the mental health statistics affecting the Hispanic population and provides an abundance of resources for those interested in further reading!
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April 2023 - Alcohol Awareness Month
Drinking alcohol is something that most people will try at least once in their adult life. Having an occasional drink is perfectly fine, but when alcohol consumption increases steadily and begins to impact your health and personal life, it starts to be considered an alcohol use disorder. This article from the NIH touches upon statistics on drinking in the Hispanic community, including predictive factors, trends by country of origin, and the consequences of heavy drinking.
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April 2023 - Stress Awareness Month
This article studies the contributing factors and coping methods of Latinx nursing students on stress. It is important, especially for those that work in nursing programs, to provide support for Latinx nursing students because we need them to feel supported and to succeed. There is an overall nursing shortage in the US, and an even bigger lack of Hispanic nurses to match the Hispanic population in the country. Remember to take care of yourself and those around you - everyone needs an outlet to destress!
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March 2023 - Women's History Month
In March we celebrate Women’s History Month, and as nurses we are all aware of Florence Nightingale, who is considered the founder of modern nursing. But are you aware of Elvira Dávila Ortiz, a Colombian nurse from the 20th century who created the first blood bank in her country, completed a thesis on blood transfusions, and was the only nurse in her country trained to perform transfusions? This article speaks on the life and achievements of Ortiz and reminds us that Latinos have always been a major part of history - especially in nursing.
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March 2023 - Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
This article was a project by Lizbeth Quintero during her Master of Social Work degree from California State University, San Bernardino. It studies the challenges and needs of Latino parents with children that have developmental disabilities. This article brings awareness of the mental and physical strain on parents, as well as self-care, resiliency, and calls for further research on this topic.
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February 2023 - The Relationship Between Puerto Rican Mother-Son Interpersonal Compatibility in the Area of Control Behavior & Adjustment in School
In celebration of Black History Month, we would like to highlight the contributions of Afro-Latinos. As members of the African diaspora, Afro-Latinos have historically been underrepresented in American history and in nursing. Dr. Ildaura Murillo-Rodhe was an Afro-Latina psychiatric nurse scholar and advocate for improving health in the Hispanic community. Born in Panama, Dr. Murillo-Rodhe immigrated to San Antonio, Texas where she embarked on her nursing journey in a diploma program. Early on in her career she noted inadequate representation of Hispanic nurses in her community. Her pursuit of higher education continued into a baccalaureate, masters and PhD degree attainment. Our journal selection for this month is her PhD dissertation manuscript titled “The Relationship between Puerto-Rican Mother-Son Interpersonal Compatibility in the Area of Control Behavior and Adjustment in School”. Dr. Murillo-Rohde was the first Latina to earn a PhD at New York University.
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January 2023 - Addressing Health Disparities by Addressing Structural Racism and Implicit Bias in Nursing Education
Addressing racism and implicit bias starts during nursing education. According to Ochs (2023), there is currently little curricular evidence of DEI integration in nursing schools. This month’s DEI article explores the current issues nurse educator face related to structural racism and implicit bias. The author emphasizes the importance of integrating DEI competencies since new graduate nurses will utilize these when taking care of patients, which can have an impact on health outcomes. As nurses, it is vital to intentionally attend professional development workshops inside and outside of nursing to help promote DEI behaviors. Reducing structural racism and implicit bias early during a nursing career can positively impact the health outcomes of our communities.
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January 2023 - Sex Trafficking Victims at Their Junction with the Healthcare Setting—A Mixed-Methods Inquiry
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. According to U.S. Department of State, "human trafficking disproportionately impacts racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, LGBTQI+ individuals, vulnerable migrants, and other historically marginalized and underserved communities, our mission to combat human trafficking must always be connected to our broader efforts to advance equity and justice across our society.” This article highlights the need for education among healthcare providers in the care of human trafficking victims.
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December 2022 - The Invisible US Hispanic/Latino HIV Crisis: Addressing Gaps in the National Response
December is HIV/AIDS Awareness Month and in the United States, there is an invisible HIV/AIDS crisis in the Hispanic/Latinx community. The federal government wants to end HIV transmission by 2030, but there are many concerns about the infection disparities in our community. This article speaks on the gaps in the national response to this crisis.
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December 2022 - Yes, There Are Jews in Mexico. We’ve Been Here for a Very Long Time
For many Latinxs, December is best known as the month of Christmas - a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. However, Latinxs are an extremely diverse community, with many of us not being part of the Christian faith. There are Islamic Latinxs, Jewish Latinxs, Buddhist Latinxs, Hindu Latinxs, and so on.Hanukkah is an eight day long Jewish celebration that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C., where Jews rose up against their oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.
There is a long history of Jewish people in the Latinx Diaspora, especially in Mexico. This article is not a scholarly journal article, but one written by Ces Heredia, a Mexican-Jewish writer who went on a journey to understand more about the history of Mexican Jews.
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November 2022 - Talking Circle For Young Adults (TC4YA) intervention: a culturally safe research exemplar
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the featured article includes author and nurse scientist, Dr. Eugenia Millender. Dr. Eugenia Millender is an indigenous Afro-Caribbean Latina nurse scientist who has done work to support indigenous nursing research and mental health equity.
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November 2022 - Leadership Challenges in Building a Hispanic Nursing Workforce
The second article featured in the DEI journal club focuses in November on the lack of Hispanic nurses in leadership positions. A publication by previous NAHN president, Dr. Norma Cuellar, highlights factors like a lack of role models and mentors. As members of NAHN, we are all called to be role models and mentors for other Hispanic men, women, students, and professionals in nursing. Dr. Cuellar’s call to action in 2018 is still relevant today.
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October 2022 - A Framework for Latino Nursing Leadership
In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, the featured article will highlight one of our own NAHN members, Antonia M. Villarruel, RN, PhD; FAAN. The article “A Framework for Latino Nursing Leadership” was written by Dr. Villaruel, who served as NAHN President from 1996-1998.
READ HERE
Your voice matters! Tell us if you have a DEI related topic you want to learn more about, or a journal article to recommend. Share Now.