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Stacy Cantu-Pawlik

Stacy Cantu completed both her BS & MPH at Texas A&M University (gig ‘em!), and is passionate about all things public health. She curates content on Healthy Food and Healthy Minds.


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Articles by Stacy Cantu-Pawlik

No, Latino Parents Do Not Choose to Live in Poverty



Latino kids living in households with low-incomes and with at least one employed adult need more support, according to new research. Previous research has shown that Latino and other minority youth experience higher rates of poverty and more significant gaps in education and health opportunity than their white peers. “Instead of focusing on providing employment to Latino parents, we should be focusing on how to advance the positions they already hold,” Lisa A. Gennetian, a visiting associate professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, told NBC News. “The question should no longer solely be, ‘How do we move low-wage Latino parents to the workforce?’ because the majority are already there." Study Findings Researchers examined the financial positions ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 9/17: Childhood Cancer Disparities


kid cancer

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 15,780 children under the age of 21 are diagnosed with cancer every year, according to the American Cancer Childhood Organization. 25% of those children will not survive the disease. Additionally, Latino and black children are more likely to die of numerous childhood cancers than their white counterparts. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, September 17, 2019 to tweet about childhood cancer disparities. What: #SaludTues Tweetchat – Childhood Cancer Disparities Time/Date: 1-2P.M. ET (Noon-1P.M. CT), Tuesday, September 17, 2019 Where: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues Host: @SaludAmerica SPECIAL GUESTS: Solving Kids' Cancer (@SolveKidsCancer) HASHTAGS: #SaludTues #ChildhoodCancerAwareness We will open the ...

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Your Skin Color May Decide Where Your Ambulance Ride Ends Up


rural hospital ambulance color latino emergency room visit coronavirus covid-19

Latinos and blacks are more likely to be taken by ambulance to safety-net hospital emergency rooms, and not always the closest hospital, according to a new study. National guidelines require EMS transportation to the nearest suitable hospital. However, the study, led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine, found large racial/ethnic differences for where emergency patients are taken. Latinos and blacks were more likely than whites to be taken to a safety-net hospital—one with a legal obligation or mission to give health care regardless of insurance status. This suggests "ambulance diversion" bias, where ambulances don't take certain patients to the nearest suitable hospital.  "The cause for this observed pattern is unknown and needs to be further studied to ...

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Advocates: ‘Tragic’ New Rule Will Hurt Latina Reproductive Health


Latina reproductive health title X

Organizations who offer reproductive services in areas with limited options for low-income Latinas and other women of color are dealing with a new Trump administration rule that can limit clinics' access to federal funding, making it harder to offer affordable care to women, NBC News reports. The "gag rule," named because advocates say it hinders a doctor's ability to provide the care they think is best, went into effect August 2019. The rule states that family planning services that get Title X federal funding must also be financially detached from any abortion services. Abortion and Title X services also must take place in separate facilities. However, federal law already forbids taxpayer funds to be used for abortions, excluding cases of rape, incest, or to save the woman's ...

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Migrant Kids Suffer Stress, Trauma in Long Stays at Detention Centers


migrant children detained mental health trauma immigrant

Mental health experts are worried as the Trump administration pursues new policy that would allow it to indefinitely detain migrant families who have crossed the U.S. border illegally, rather than a maximum of 20 days NPR reports. Detainment is damaging children's mental health, they say. "If the regulation goes through and we hope it will not ... we're going to see additional harm done to children," Luis Zayas, a clinical social worker and psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told NPR. Long Detainment Stays = Trauma Detained immigrant children and families already face big stress, according to a recent study. Researchers interviewed 425 mothers of children at the detention center. The mothers filled out a questionnaire about mental health symptoms in their ...

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Immigration Arrests Linked to Depression in Latino Kids


depressed sad mental health latina girl immigrant

Latino kids who experience the immigration-related arrest of a family member report more severe levels of depression than those who don’t have such an experience, according to new research. This is especially true for children who have one or both parents undocumented. “These arrests often are a distant abstract fear or urban legend for many Latino kids, but it becomes very real and frightening when it happens to their family, which can have serious repercussions for their mental health,” said lead researcher Dr. Zachary Giano of Oklahoma State University, in a press release. Distressing Findings The research, led by Oklahoma State University, is published in the American Psychological Association's journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. The scientists ...

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School Segregation Is Worsening for Latino Kids


school segregation latina girl kid attending class

Latino children are likely to enter elementary schools this year with fewer white peers than a generation ago, a sign of increasing school segregation, according to researchers in the journal Educational Researcher. In 1998, U.S. Latino children attended elementary schools in which nearly 40% of their classmates were white. That percentage fell to just 30% in 2010. Segregation grows into severe isolation in large urban school districts. In the nation’s 10 poorest districts, Latino elementary students attended, on average, schools that were just 5% white—down from 7% white in 1998. “It's essential that we consider hard evidence as the nation debates questions of fairness, segregation, and immigration,” according to study co-author Claudia Galindo of the University of ...

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Protect Immigrant Health, Behavioral Scientists Advise


Silhouette of a refugees family with children immigrant

As of 2017, the U.S. is home to roughly 44 million immigrants – the largest number of immigrants in the world, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The majority of immigrants are Latino. They relocate from Mexico as well as other countries such as El Salvador, Cuba, Dominican Republic, India, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. To protect immigrant health—as well as the general public wellness—scientists from the Society of Behavioral Health (SBM) recommend that congress impose strict restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intervention in or around medical facilities. "Protecting the health of immigrants promotes health equity and is an important investment in protecting the health of the American public including schools, families, communities, ...

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Bad News: Final Rule on Public Charge Will Hurt Latino Families


Immigrant march protest Latino media

The Trump Administration has announced its final decision regarding the public charge rule, which is set to take effect Oct. 15, 2019. This new regulation changes the policies used to decide whether the officials can deny an individual's citizenship application or modifications to their citizenship status if they are determined likely to become a public charge, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The changes could considerably reduce the number of legal immigrants permitted to enter and stay in the U.S. — by making it easier to reject green card and visa applications. The new rule is bad news for public health, according to Mark Del Monte, CEO and Interim Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "[We] strongly opposes the final rule issued ...

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