The Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance is a group of Latinx scholars with expertise in epidemiological, basic, and intervention research with immigrant populations. LIHA scholars collaborate to advance research, policy, and effective interventions to improve immigrant mental health and inform effective policy.
The Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance came together in 2020 in response to growing intersecting systemic stressors (ex: COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly anti-immigrant policies, racist and xenophobic attacks on immigrants) impacting the health of immigrant communities at various levels. The group started combining efforts to a) develop health education resources, b) provide trainings to providers and community members to fulfill unmet mental health needs, c) formulate a collective research agenda that addresses Latinx immigrant health from various disciplines and angles (ex: psychological practice and training, education, health prevention, intervention, policy), and d) engage in advocacy to improve policy. All of our work is done with a participatory approach that centers those who are most impacted, and in close collaboration with psychological associations and community groups. This collaborative conducts psychological and health research related to immigration stressors, as well as implementation of community-based interventions to support the immigrant community. The research is conducted in collaboration with immigrant-led organizations, such as United We Dream. The research team includes researchers from Lehigh University, Yale University, University of Texas Health San Antonio, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, University of Houston, and Utah State University.