At the CSDE seminar on November 6th, Dr. Claudia Masferrer will present “Returning to a New Mexican Labor Market? Regional Variation in the Economic Incorporation of Return Migrants from the U.S. to Mexico”. The talk will discuss the economic outcomes of return and U.S. born migrants to Mexico and compare those outcomes to previous cohorts of migrants, using data from the 2000 and 2010 Mexican Censuses and a 2015 Intercensal Survey. Dr. Masferrer is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Seminar Migration, Inequality, and Public Policies at El Colegio de México and an Adjunct Professor at McGill University. Her research examines the relationships between migration, immigrant integration, family dynamics, and policy contexts to provide policy-relevant insights into issues surrounding migration and family wellbeing.

Register for Dr. Masferrer's Zoom seminar here. This quarter, CSDE is recording the seminar series and posting the links on its website. Visit our site here.

After the seminar, CSDE trainee Maria Vignau Loria will facilitate a graduate student discussion with Dr. Masferrer. RSVP by emailing her at mvl4@uw.edu.

Last year, when the NW Federal Statistics Research Data Center (NWFSRDC) was just about ready to re-open in a newly renovated space on campus in the basement of the Communications Building, COVID-19 shut everything down. The good news is that the facility is now back open with all of the safety protocols in place. This facility enables researchers to access restricted-use data that are collected through Federal agencies. There are four types of data available: Demographic data, Economic data, Linked business and household data, Public health data.  If you are interested in working in the NWFSRDC, don’t hesitate to contact CSDE Affiliate Mark Ellis or the NWFSRDC Administrator Carlos Becerra.

Associate Professor of Social Work and CSDE Executive Member Dr. Melissa Martinson studies inequities in health and wellbeing throughout the life span, both in the United States and internationally. Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Epidemiology, American Journal of Public Health and Social Science and Medicine, to name just a few of her works. She completed her Ph.D. in Social Work at Columbia University. Dr. Martinson's research examines the wide health divide between the United States and other wealthy, developed nations. Within that comparative context, her work aims to understand and alleviate health disparities by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status and immigrant status.

CSDE Affiliate Zack Almquist, along with coauthors at the UW and UC Irvine, recently published an article in PNAS examining the impact of an uneven population distribution on the spread of the COVID-19 disease spread in Seattle and 18 other major US cities. The article received significant attention in the media and a special press release from the UW. Using U.S. Census Bureau tract demographics, simulation techniques and COVID-19 case data from spring 2020, the authors estimate a range of days for the virus to spread within a given city. They find that some neighborhoods peak sooner than others, and in every city, the virus lingers in places far longer than some might expect. In Seattle, denser neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill or the University District, reach peak infection rate earlier. But simulations predict that even nearby neighborhoods won’t reach peak infection until weeks or even years later. These models predict more of a “burst-like” behavior of the virus’ spread than standard models — with short, sudden episodes of infection across the city.

CSDE Alumna Michelle O’Brien recently published an article in Population Research and Policy Review examining the consequences of violent conflict on reproductive health. Using Tajik Living Standards Survey data, she leverages the uneven geographical scope of conflict events during the civil war to pinpoint women’s exposure to violence, measured by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. She finds that for women who had reached menarche during or after the civil war, exposure to conflict events increases the likelihood of ever experiencing miscarriage, but not abortion. Including a spatial lag operator reveals that there were also spillover effects for abortion, in which women who were in a broader region of uncertainty were more likely to induce an abortion. These findings highlight the role of institutional changes in affecting pregnancy loss during and after civil war. To read the article click here.

CSDE Affiliate Anna Zamora-Kapoor, along with co-authors, recently published an article in BMC Public Health examining implementation outcomes of a culturally adapted diabetes self-management education intervention. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, they evaluate acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, and sustainability for a diabetes self-management education intervention delivered by peer educators to Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders residing in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Based on respondent reports on the relevance of the educational materials, strategies to manage blood glucose, hands-on activities, cultural aspects of the program, including the stories and analogies used to convey information, and appreciation of the group format and peer educators, they conclude that a culturally tailored, peer educator approach to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) is feasible. To read the article click here. 

CSDE Affiliate Alexes Harris guest edited UW’s Viewpoint Magazine to raise up voices in our community who can imagine an anti racist future for UW. These are powerful and wise voices from all across campus and campus experiences. Included among the visionaries is CSDE Affiliate LaShawnda Pittman who writes about the powerful connection between research and praxis. Take time to learn from all of them!