| Popis: |
This dissertation explores the application of Critical Realism Theory (CRT) to immigrant health research, by proposing “The Open System Conceptual Model of Immigrant Health”, as a tool for conducting health research in volunteer (non-refugees, non-asylum seekers) immigrants.Quantitative epidemiological health research related to The Hispanic Paradox in Mexico-born U.S. adult immigrants provides examples of the applicability of the proposed multi-theory conceptual framework.Two studies demonstrate the Hispanic Paradox on sleep health outcomes: lower risk of short habitual sleep time, insomnia, and sleep related daily functional impairments in Mexico-born U.S. immigrants, as compared to the general U.S. population, to their U.S. born Mexican-American counterparts, and/or Latino U.S. immigrants counterparts.One study explores “Proportion of Lifetime in Immigration” (PLI) as a measure of the “experience in immigration” effect, in addition to age effects, in cohort analysis. The theoretical grounding of “The Open System Conceptual Model of Immigrant Health” predicts PLI as being significantly correlated with the age at immigration, the decade at the time of arrival to the U.S., but not with the participant age.The significance of the conceptual framework and the results of these studies are presented and further epidemiological and health policy implications are proposed. |
