Using the Structural Influence Model to Explore U.S. Latina/O/X/E Undocumented Immigrants' COVID-19 Information Acquisition, Perceptions, and Prevention Behaviors

• Published in: Health communication 2024-11, Vol.39 (13), p.3180-3194
• Main Authors: Molina-Rogers, Nancy, Kam, Jennifer A., Cornejo, Monica, Mendez Murillo, Roselia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; California; Contracting; Coping; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - ethnology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 - psychology; Credibility; Cultural values; Data processing; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Female; First year; Health behavior; Health beliefs; Health disparities; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health literacy; Health status; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - psychology; Humans; Immigrants; Inequality; Information; Information Seeking Behavior; Interviews as Topic; Latin American cultural groups; Male; Mass media; Middle Aged; Migrant workers; Pandemics; Perceptions; Prevention programs; Social Media; Susceptibility; Trust; Uncertainty; Undocumented immigrants; Undocumented Immigrants - psychology; United States; Variants; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1041-0236; 1532-7027; 1532-7027
• DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2024.2309808

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. undocumented immigrants were at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, with many of them being "frontline essential workers" and residing in crowded living spaces. Given undocumented immigrants' elevated susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 at the peak of uncertainty surrounding the virus, we used the structural influence model of communication to explore: (1) how undocumented immigrants acquired information about COVID-19; (2) how they assessed information trustworthiness and accuracy; (3) their perceptions of COVID-19; and (4) how they prevented or managed COVID-19. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with 46 Latina/o/x/e undocumented immigrants residing in California, we found four key themes: (1) (dis)trust in traditional media as participants relied heavily on social media for COVID-19 information; (2) weak and strong ties played a crucial role in co-constructing health outcomes with different levels of organization; (3) learning about COVID-19 through (in)direct experiences; and (4) coping through health literacy and cultural beliefs. The study's findings can inform future efforts to reach highly-vulnerable immigrant communities during a crisis (or different outbreaks in COVID-19 variants), and hopefully, help reduce health inequities.