Nearly one of every two people are Latino in Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. As the Latino community rises, equitable health, education, and opportunity is critical. That is why two Houston organizations, Children at Risk and Child Health Policy at the Baker Institute, published the 2024 Latino Child Health Initiative Report to examine the state of Latino child health in Precinct 2, one of four precincts in Harris County. The report identified high rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity among Latino children in Houston, as well as barriers to mental health services and kindergarten readiness. Let’s dive into the report and how it reflects the overall US Latino population.
Latino Children and Risk for Diabetes, Obesity
In ...
Brain health is important – but we often overlook it. The World Health Organization defines brain health as the “state of brain functioning across cognitive, sensory, social-emotional, behavioural and motor domains, allowing a person to realize their full potential over the life course.” While we can take action to maintain our brain health and mental health, conditions such as brain tumors and dementia can affect the brain and disrupt our lives. As part of Brain Cancer Awareness Month in May, let’s use #SaludTues on May 14, 2024, to explore how to maintain brain health and find out what we should know about brain tumors, dementia, and mental health, especially among the Latino population. WHERE: Twitter
WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “Why Is Brain Health So ...
Nearly half of healthcare workers say they often feel burned out. That is why CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently launched the Impact Wellbeing Guide: Taking Action to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing. “The role of healthcare workers in taking care of all of us is absolutely vital to our society, to our economy, and to our culture. But our healthcare workforce needs to feel supported, too,” said Dr. John Howard, NIOSH director, in press release. Let’s explore the guide, its six action steps, and how it can benefit Latino healthcare workers!
What is the Impact Wellbeing Guide?
NIOSH and the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation designed the Impact Wellbeing Guide to help hospital leaders and executives accelerate or supplement ...
35% of U.S. teens say they are using at least one of YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook “almost constantly,” according to Pew Research Center. How does social media impact adolescent health? There are complex benefits and harms, according to a new report that tackles the effects of social media on children and adolescents’ physical and mental health, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). This is important for Latinos, 98% of whom own a smartphone and who are the highest-percentage users of Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and WhatsApp among racial/ethnic groups. “The use of social media—rather than having purely negative or positive impacts—is likely a constantly shifting calculus of the risky, the ...
Did you know 12.1% of men are in fair or poor health? Similarly, the average life expectancy of men in the United States is almost 5 years less than women (76.2 compared to 81). November is National Men’s Health Awareness Month, highlighting the importance of men’s physical and mental health while encouraging support for men facing prostate, testicular, and other cancers. In November (and beyond), here are some ways you can support men’s health!
Latino Men’s Health
Latino men face many health disparities when it comes to physical and mental health. For example, while national suicide rates decreased, the rates went up 6% for Latino men, according to a 2022 article from Texas Public Radio. Machismo and other forms of stigma can play a large part ...
November is National Family Caregivers Month (NFCM)! NFCM is an opportunity to recognize family caregivers across the country and “raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities, and increase support for caregivers,” according to the Administration for Community Living. This year, Mental Health America has shared new resources for both caregivers and employers. “We know caregivers need support in balancing their personal and professional obligations, and employers need resources to better support their caregivers on staff,” according to Mental Health America. Let’s dive deeper into these educational tools and find out how they can benefit Latino caregivers.
Latinos and Caregiving
41.8 million Americans provided unpaid care to an adult ...
One of the many factors that contributes to the disparities within mental health in the Latino community is lack of culturally accurate and relevant resources. With this need in mind, Mental Health America (MHA) has launched a Spanish Mental Health Resource Center complete with Spanish-language resources and tools. Let's examine what these resources have to offer and why materials like these are important for Latinos.
Spanish Mental Health Resource Center
Fostering mental health awareness and support for all is crucial. “Language barriers can make communicating with providers difficult, or even impossible, particularly when a person is seeking counseling for sensitive or uniquely personal issues,” according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness ...
From mental health to education and preparing children for adulthood, moms and dads have a lot to think about with how they parent. In fact, 40% of parents with children younger than 18 say they are extremely or very worried that their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point, according to the new Parenting in America Today report from the Pew Research Center. Parents worries stem from the rise of a youth mental health crisis and the compounding stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, which deeply impacted Latinos. Let’s explore the full report on parenting and how it impacts Latinos!
The Top Parental Concern
Mental health is the top concern for parents, according to the Pew report. That worry is felt “more acutely” by Latino parents. “42% of ...
The rise of COVID-19 worsened daily life for Latinos and many others in areas like healthcare, housing, income, and food access. Stress and anxiety are other grim outcomes of the pandemic, especially for youth. Following COVID-19-fueled school shutdowns and social isolation, adolescents experienced more symptoms of anxiety and depression and greater internalizing problems than before the pandemic, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The brains of teens and young adults were also deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “In addition to replicating prior findings that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected adolescents’ mental health, this study showed that the pandemic may have physically aged their brains,” according to ...
