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Cliff Despres

Cliff Despres, who has more than a decade of experience in journalism and public relations, is communications director for Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.

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Articles by Cliff Despres

School Meals Play Big Role in Health of American Children, Especially Latinos



School meals are important contributors to the healthy diets of our nation’s children. This is especially true for children in food insecure homes, almost half of whom are Latino, according to 14 papers published in a special issue​ of the journal ​Nutrients. The papers make important links between school meals and food security, obesity, and racial/ethnic disparities. "These new papers go even deeper in exploring how national policies [including the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act] have affected children and schools,” said Dr. Mary Story of Healthy Eating Research, which commissioned the new papers. “As Congressional leaders look to reauthorize the bill this year, it’s critical that these standards are kept in place.” Update 4/8/21: Jamie Bussel of the Robert Wood ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/9: The Surprising Role of School Meals in Advancing Health Equity for Students


school food cafeteria lunch line students

For parents who don’t have access to enough food to feed their families, school breakfast and lunch are the only meals their children get in a day. This is the situation facing many Latino and black households, who suffer high rates of food insecurity. During COVID-19, USDA made school meals free for all students. This underlines the need for school lunch and breakfast to be as nutritious as possible, to ensure the health of all children, equitably. Let’s use #SaludTues on March 9, 2021, to tweet about how school meals set a strong foundation for health equity for Latino and all students, especially for National Nutrition Month in March and in advance of International School Meals Day on March 11! WHERE: Twitter WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “The Surprising Role of ...

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Help Stop Weight Bias for Obesity Care Week 2021!


obesity care week bicycle rider latino man

Obesity Care Week 2021 (#OCW2021) is here! From Feb. 28 to March 6, 2021, our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio, is happy to be an OCW2021 Champion to support this awareness week. Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias, as well as raise awareness, educate and advocate for a better world for people living with obesity. Salud America! research shows that U.S. Latinos face health inequities in many areas—from poverty and social support to access to affordable housing and transit—that contribute to higher rates of obesity. Latino adults have higher obesity rates than their white peers (47% and 37.9%), as do Latino children (20.7% and 11.7%). This, in turn, leads to disparities in diabetes and risk for COVID-19 and ...

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Bilingual Comic Strip Helps Latinos See Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccine


what my family should know about COVID-19 vaccines - Latinos - English via National Alliance for Hispanic Health

A new educational COVID-19 comic strip series in English and Spanish is helping bring important vaccine information to Latino families. The comic strips, created by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, demonstrate what families, friends, parents, and patients need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine. The comics also feature the Alliance's bilingual Su Familia Helpline (1-866-783-2645). See all 14 of the comic strips. So far, Latinos make up a very low percentage of those getting a vaccine. And they are disproportionately hurt by COVID-19. "The toll of COVID-19 on Hispanic communities has been devastating," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, leader of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, in a statement. "We have lost far too many and for far too long effective public ...

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Salud America! Gets $650,000 Genentech Grant to Bring More Latinos into Cancer, Alzheimer’s Research


Latino cancer patient smiling with doctor nurse clinic

Did you know that Latinos represent 18.5% of the U.S. population, but are less than 10% of those in federal cancer and drug studies? This makes it hard for researchers to create treatments that work best for Latinos. To engage more Latinos in research, the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio has received a three-year, $650,000 grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to create Latino-focused recruitment strategies and systems for clinical trials in cancer treatment and Alzheimer’s disease. Salud America!, established in 2007, produces culturally relevant multimedia research, tools, and stories to fuel its digital network—over 400,000 moms and dads and health, community, and school leaders across the nation—to change systems and environments toward ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 2/2: The Chronic Wound of Health Inequity


crowd chronic wound tweetchat

You might know that health inequities, such as a lack of access to health care, housing, or transportation, prevent Latinos and other people of color from getting a fair opportunity to live their healthiest. These inequities can cut deeply, and for a long time. Some experts compare these inequities to a “chronic wound” that doesn’t heal in a timely or expected way, with both little progress and many long-term health consequences. Let’s use #SaludTues on Feb. 2, 2021, to tweet about how advocates, planners, and other leaders can take action to solve the chronic wound of health inequities! WHERE: Twitter WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “The Chronic Wound of Health Inequities” WHEN: 1-2 p.m. ET (12-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021 HOST: Salud America! at UT ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 1/12: Improving Oral Health across the Latino Lifespan


oral health latino lifespan old man with child playing basketball gym latino alzheimer's disease dementia tweetchat brain healthAlzheimer’s Disease Research Cente Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

Even in a pandemic, we still have a lot to smile about. We all care about our parents, sisters, brothers, niños, and our abuelos. We want to make sure they are the healthiest they can be, and that includes their oral health. So let’s use #SaludTues on Jan. 12, 2021, to tweet about how we can help people of all ages improve their oral health and be able to flash those healthy smiles for a lifetime! WHERE: Twitter WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “Improving Oral Health across the Latino Lifespan” WHEN: 1-2 p.m. ET (12-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021 HOST: Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio (@SaludAmerica) CO-HOST: Campaign for Dental Health from the American Academy of Pediatrics (@ILikeMyTeeth), Hispanic Dental Association (@HDAssoc), Oral Health Forum ...

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Dr. Amelie Ramirez: Tackling Latina Breast Cancer Disparities



Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, discussed Latina breast cancer in a livestream interview for the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Dec. 7, 2020. Watch the full interview (in Spanish). Ramirez has led Latina-focused breast cancer research for over 20 years. She has studied patient navigation, genetic testing, clinical trials, quality of life, and survivorship issues. "Cancer prevention is a critical way to save people’s lives today," said Ramirez, who also hosts the biannual Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference. "If we applied what we know works through prevention, we could reduce cancer by half." Dr. Ramirez & Her Healthy Equity Research Ramirez is an ...

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How a Smoke-Free Policy Protects Apartment Tenants from Secondhand Smoke, COVID-19


Mil Gracias for not smoking indoors in multifamily dwellings

Does someone smoke in your apartment complex? You might be inhaling your neighbor's secondhand smoke. Inside multifamily dwellings, secondhand smoke can travel through doorways, halls, windows, ventilation systems, electrical outlets, and gaps around fixtures and pipes. Secondhand smoke, already a cancer-causing killer of millions, also might contribute to the spread of coronavirus. While there is no definitive link as of yet, there is enough scientific understanding of how particles travel to cause concern that smoke from cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products could be transferring COVID-19, said Dr. Loren Wold, a researcher at The Ohio State University. “We know that the virus can attach to particles and can travel three, four, or five times farther than they ...

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