By Jade Pearce

Associate professor, Barbara Baquero explains her work in addressing the needs of micropolitan communities to improve Latino health equity.

Could you expand on the definition of “micropolitan communities” (non-metropolitan area with a population between 10,000 – 50,000) and “non-core?” Are there other characteristics?    

BB: This is a federal government definition from the Office of Administration and is just one way to define non-metropolitan areas. This definition is geographic-focused, and we wrote this paper to elevate another way to think about these communities. It's important to discuss the implications of this concept for public health planning and promotion.  The argument is that rural communities that fit this definition tend to vary in size and are increasingly diverse. Some of these micropolitan communities might be a county seat and therefore the epicenter of the region, but it is not a big city. It doesn't have freeways that cross the city, but they may experience the same issues that we see in metropolitan cities or non-metro areas. In sum, we wanted to find a more inclusive way to describe these cities and find a term that resonated with our community partners. We wanted to find a way to describe the dynamic nature of these communities. These areas may share many of the characteristics with metropolitan cities, but they also face unique challenges that rural communities encounter.  
 

Your article says that “micropolitan communities experience faster rates of growth in Black, Asian, Latinx and immigrant populations than non-core areas.” What are some of the reasons for this demographic and economic shift?   

BB: The main driver has been work-related and that's the shift seen across the Midwest. For example, large agricultural and food processing businesses recruit and hire hundreds of people to work in their plants. The recruitment process occurs through social informal and formal networks. When one person is hired, they may know one or more people that are willing to do the work, and often these people may bring others from their community to that area.  These communities are also appealing because housing and other services are more affordable.  

This shift generates needs and tension in the receiving communities. The local governments will need people to support elementary schools, or they will need doctors or interpreters to provide effective care for the community. Small businesses appear to serve this new community members, etc. Several demographic and social economic shifts have shown that majority white communities in these areas are aging, and younger residents leave for education or work opportunities, creating new opportunities for ethnic and racial groups.  
 

What were the most surprising or interesting findings during your research for this article?

BB: The motivation of writing this paper was to examine the social and demographic shift, structure and implications in public health. How do we communicate to the larger audiences that the health of community members in rural micropolitan areas link to the many and same drivers of health than metropolitan areas? But the way in which rural micropolitan areas experience and deal with these drivers is different, nuanced and requires attention just like any other community is also important to understand. For example, transportation is an issue that affects the health of all residents, but what it may look like in Seattle may be different in Yakima or another micropolitan community. There is a constant dynamic at play within these types of communities. We must consider how we collaboratively design and implement public health strategies to best serve the community.  
 

How do you foresee these factors shifting and changing the public health landscape in these micropolitan communities?   

BB: That's a good question; we are observing a shift in immigration status. In Washington state, there are several counties that are trending minority-majority Latinos, which means changes in the political and economic power of these communities. For example, there are at least two or three million Latinos born in the U.S. that have turned 18 in the last two years or so; 250,000 of them reside in Washington state. They're U.S. citizens, and community leaders are beginning work with these individuals so they understand their power and responsibilities by registering to vote and mobilizing them to advocate for their communities. 
 

The article suggests that local health departments (LHD) are in a unique position to provide and connect individuals to different resources. Can you kind of expand on that? 

BB: Micropolitan areas with a health department can have a high touch and impact with their community members. LHDs are an important partner in organizing, communicating and engaging with the community. LHD could be conveners across the community and coordinate how different entities and services can work together to serve the changing and growing new populations they may be serving.