First of all, this month we offer some reminders for resources that are available to help you navigate, with your clients, between immunization requirements in the US and those from neighboring Mexico.   Second, we guide you to a link on the World Health Organization website where you can check other countries’ immunization requirements and schedules.   This may give you a starting point for understanding your migrant clients’ immunization histories. Third, we offer a sample bi-lingual parent-held pediatric vaccine record.  Remember, “the most reliable source of vaccine information on any particular individual is that individual! Contrary to popular belief, parents DO carry portable vaccination records when given them. This is particularly true for immigrant families, who are used to carrying important documents and who realize the potential of revaccination if records are unavailable to the local provider.”  Jennie McLaurin, MD Finally, in the season of giving, our gift offer to the clinics participating in Immunization Initiatives  send us the English patient-held vaccine record you use for your clients, and we will translate it into Spanish. We offer this first to the clinics participating in Immunization Initiatives, and to the first six clinics who contact us.  Email the listserv administrator to make arrangements at kath@healthletter.com

Our June topic is IIS or Immunzaion Registries. Between August and October of 2008, immunization initiative staff at MCN conducted structured interviews with all State Immunization Coordinators or their designated contact persons in an effort to identify state programs that address the immunization needs. In response to the question “does your state have an electronic immunization registry?” we found that 42 states have registries, six states are in the process of implementing them, and two states do not have registries. Out of 42 states with registries, 37 are in both public and private settings and 31 are “birth to death” registries, including both children and adults. To view report, go to: http://www.migrantclinician.org/toolsource/resource/interviews-state-programs-addressing-immunization-needs.html

We offer three articles that discuss the progress of using immunization registries to improve recording and access of immunization data. Click on the links below to access the full articles.

Our May topic is “What Do Migrants from Mexico, Central and South America Think About Immunization?” MCN has conducted several focus groups in recent years on this topic, and we share with you, in two papers, what we learned in these focus groups.

The Immunization Initiative at MCN promotes improving childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization coverage levels among migrant and other mobile underserved populations. During the course of the initiative, anecdotal and documented evidence of an increase in the Hispanic indigenous population in United States and outside California surfaced from various sources. A separate initiative emerged, to design and develop a piece of educational material specifically for this population. This article, published in Streamline (March-April, 2009) discusses this initiative.

M E J Personal Business Services, Inc. is an interpreting, translation, and financial service based in New York City.  They provide Foreign Language Interpreting, Telephone interpreting, video remote Interpreting, and Financial and Translation Services.  Their website specifies that they provide document translations in Mixteco.  

General information or a free quote:  866-557-5336

The CDI is an organization that was created in 2003 to ensure that indigenous communities and people in Mexico have the rights guaranteed to them by the Mexican Constitution. It collaborates with state governments and federal dependencies to evaluate current strategies and works to form new programs that will ensure equality and fight against indigenous discrimination. It also works to help indigenous peoples to improve their quality of life. Their website includes a number of resources on indigenous areas of Mexico including news stories (some of which are written in an indigenous language), music, and research information on the indigenous populations. There is also a section of basic information on the indigenous languages of Mexico.

The Oaxacan Indigenous Binational Front (FIOB) is a non-profit organization based in California. It is a coalition of indigenous organizations, communities, and individuals from Oaxaca, Baja California and in the State of California. This organization works to empower the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca and make sure that human rights are upheld for these communities in both Mexico and the United States.

The Native Literacy Center in Oaxaca, Mexico was founded by a group of professionals and native educators from Oaxaca to support literacy projects for indigenous peoples.  This center is involved with preservation, helping indigenous peoples to write their languages, print and publish individual works, write their histories, and record their knowledge for future generations.  People come from Central and South America to this Center, where they learn how to produce their own works.  The center also works with education, teaching indigenous peoples how to write their languages so that they are able to produce their own works. 

1.  Online dicitionary in a variety of languages available under the "Foreign Language Aides for Latin America and Iberia" section, including Mixteco, Nahuatl, and Zapoteco.  http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm
2.  Mixtec-Spanish Online Dictionary   http://aulex.ohui.net/es-mix/?idioma=en                 
3.  Mixtec dictionary created by the SIL:  http://www.sil.org/mexico/mixteca/00i-mixteca.htm
4.  Mam-Spanish Dictionary    http://www.cscd.osakau.ac.jp/user/rosaldo/Mam_Esp_DICC_COM.html

Western NC Workers Center:  Located in Morganton, North Carolina, the Western NC Workers Center is a non-profit group of community organizers.  This organization currently has a number of outreach and education projects which work to uphold the rights of immigrant and low wage employees in Western North Carolina.  They also work with high levels of Guatemalan immigrants who speak indigenous languages.  One of their projects designed to reach indigenous language speakers is their Promotora Education project, which uses scenario picture books without words to educate low literacy populations about health and work safety. 

Contact:

Francisco Risso                                                                                                                (828) 432-5080                                                                                                             fjrisso@hotmail.com