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Hyptertension Among Haitians Living In The Bahamas, John Mazzeo

John Mazzeo, Ph.D.

For many Haitians in the Bahamas, migration and the process of adapting to life creates stress and may be correlated with high blood pressure. This study examines the social determinants of hypertension among Haitians in the Bahamas by exploring how experiences of migration create stress that is believed to cause high blood pressure. The Haitian explanatory model of high blood pressure, tansyon, explains the relationships between variables such as diet, stress, and poverty with the blood. Research was conducted in several Haitian communities in New Providence and Abaco using ethnographic methods such as interviews and participant observation. Information about hypertension …