Social Determinants of Health Approach to Facilitate Fulfillment of the U.S. Latinx Children’s Right to Personal Security: The Strong Communities Initiative as a Case Study

Environmental injustice, structural racism, and their effects on poverty affect disproportionately communities of color in the United States (U.S.); contributing to health inequities, including child maltreatment and neglect. Cultural diversity and pluralism makes necessary the study of families’ cultural and socioeconomic values to characterize the socio-ecological contexts and social determinants of health (SDOH) to which children from underrepresented communities are exposed to in the U.S. This descriptive paper presents a SDOH approach, by building on the existing literature, to identify socioeconomic, cultural, and contextual conditions that influence Latinx children’s fulfillment of their right to personal security. Using the Strong Communities for Children initiative as a case study, a review of practices that, if culturally, linguistically and contextually adapted, could be applicable for promoting Latinx children’ safety are discussed. The Strong Communities is a child maltreatment and neglect prevention initiative that promotes the safety and well-being of U.S children by addressing the multilevel conditions or determinants that place children at risk for abuse or neglect. Strong communities is a multilevel, assets-based and socio-ecological approach to preventing child maltreatment and neglect, that incorporates community engagement and capacity building strategies. This approach could facilitate development of culturally and linguistically relevant interventions, by incorporating Latinx cultural values, to promote meaningful engagement of and trust among Latinx immigrant families and communities. The conclusion include a call for capacity building programs and policies that pursue Latinx families’ child maltreatment and neglect prevention to use culturally and linguistically relevant, multidisciplinary (E.g. social epidemiology and community-engaged research and interventions), holistic, multilevel, and community-engaged approaches to strengthen children’s family and community environment