ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Planetary Health
This article is part of the Research TopicUrban Nature and its Benefits for Human HealthView all 8 articles
No Hay Paso: Barriers to Nature Access Faced by Mexicans in Southern Arizona
Provisionally accepted
- 1Health Promotion Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
- 2Unaffiliated, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
- 3Cruz Farm, Douglas, United States
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Mexican immigrants and other low-income populations in the United States face reduced access to natural environments, limiting their opportunities both to secure a wide range of associated health advantages and to participate fully in environmental stewardship and protection efforts. However, we have limited data on the full extent of immigrants' barriers to nature. This ethnographic study was designed to investigate Mexicans' access to and engagement with natural environments over the course of international migration from Mexico to southern Arizona via interviews with stakeholders and historical experts (n=9) and first-generation Mexican immigrants working in land-based careers (n=10). Analysis was conducted utilizing a One Health adaptation of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities research framework, revealing barriers across all six levels of influence and multiple domains. Results confirmed multi-level barriers identified in the literature as well as highlighting additional barriers not previously recorded, suggesting the need for further research and especially health interventions geared to increase immigrants' access to nature to improve their health and heighten their ability to serve as effective advocates and stewards of the natural world.
Keywords: Mexican immigrants, nature barriers, NIMHD research framework, One Health, US-Mexico border, Planetary health
Received: 25 Jun 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Crocker, Sánchez and Cruz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rebecca M. Crocker, rcrocker@arizona.edu
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