¡VAMOS! The Feasibility and Acceptability of Pre- to Post-Migration Research with Venezuelan Migrant Parents

Abstract

Since 2015, more than 7 million Venezuelans—very often parents with young children—have left their once prosperous nation, the vast majority resettling in low-to-moderate resource communities in South America. Critically, although developmental science makes clear that early childhood is a vital stage, one in which exposure to stress and trauma can have lifelong implications, we know little of the experiences of Venezuelan crisis migrant parents with young children. In this pilot study, we will conduct formative mixed methods research to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of conducting research with Venezuelan migrant parents that includes data collection both prior to migration (in Venezuela) and shortly after arrival in the receiving context (in Colombia). The expected scientific impact of our study runs along two tracks, one methodological (i.e., innovation in how migration research is conducted) and one substantive (i.e., the importance of the health of South-South migrant parents). The proposed research will facilitate new interdisciplinary collaboration between three Boston College faculty members in partnership with Corporación Nuevos Rumbos, a research organization located in Bogotá, Colombia.

Students Trained 

• 1 Graduate Students
  • Ximena Mancilla Delgado, MSW Student
    
• 2 Postdoctoral Student 
  • María F. García,  BCSSW UNICEF-USA Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Jini Kim, Doctor of Nurse Practice Candidate