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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

Abigail Rubio: Changing the Medical School Oath to Address Racism


Abigail Rubio medical school oath 6

Abigail Rubio, like all medical students, started her journey to be a doctor with an oath. In the traditional Hippocratic Oath, future physicians pledge to do no harm, treat people not symptoms, and respect patient privacy. This sets the tone for medical students’ time in school, as well as their practice later. But Rubio knew something was missing from the oath. She and her peers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, with the guidance of their faculty advisers, wrote their own medical oath and recited it in August 2020 with new emphasis on COVID-19, health care inequities, and racism as a public health crisis. This is part of a rising trend of medical students writing their own oaths on their ever-evolving responsibilities as doctors to address systemic ...

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The Surprising Difference Between Cleaning and Disinfection


Infection Control and Prevention cleaning disinfection nurse hospital doctor

Cleaning and disinfection are both important for preventing infections from spreading in healthcare settings. But cleaning is not the same as disinfection. Let’s explore the importance of cleaning and disinfection, and the difference between them, with the help of the CDC’s Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers have the infection control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, their patients, and their coworkers. What is Cleaning? Cleaning removes things like dust, dirt, grime, and other spills, smears, and everyday messes from surfaces. Cleaning can also remove things that are not visible, like germs. "You can think of cleaning as removing the ‘gunk’ that you can see on ...

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What is the Goal of Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare Settings?



As COVID-19 proved, germs, including bacteria and viruses, can spread quickly. The goal of infection prevention and control is to keep people from getting sick. This is why the CDC launched Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers, no matter their role or educational background, have the infection prevention and control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, their patients, and their coworkers. Project Firstline is working with National Hispanic Medical Association and Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio to promote infection prevention and control in healthcare settings. “The goal of CDC’s infection control recommendations is to protect you and everyone in the healthcare ...

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Tatiana Holanda: Cáncer No Es un Oponente, Sino un Maestro


Tatiana Holanda breast cancer survivor brazil san antonio

Por Tatiana Holanda Sobreviviente de cáncer brasileña en San Antonio No veo al cáncer como un oponente "Lo veo como un maestro". Esa es la frase que resume mi historia. A la edad de 33 años, luego de los exámenes, se detectó un bulto en la mama izquierda de 2 cm, en el examen de ultrasonido se clasificó como Birads 4 con indicación de biopsia. En junio de 2019, con el resultado en la mano, se confirmó que tenía cáncer de mama triple negativo. Al principio, desesperación, luego angustia y ansiedad. Hubo 40 días de espera entre el diagnóstico y el inicio del tratamiento. Tuve que sacar fuerzas de algún lado, en ese momento mi hijo Rafael tenía 1 año. Cuando descubrí la enfermedad, pensé: tanto le pedí a Dios un hijo y ¿qué voy a hacer ahora frente al ...

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Join the Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action!


Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action from Campaign for Tobacco free kids no smoking

How can you stand up to the tobacco industry? On April 1, you can participate in Take Down Tobacco National Day of Action! Take Down Tobacco, a fresh take on Kick Butts Day, is the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ signature platform for empowering people to speak out against the tobacco industry. You can: Raise awareness of the problem of tobacco use Encourage youth to pledge reject the tobacco industry’s deceptive marketing and stay tobacco-free Urge leaders to take action to protect kids from tobacco Watch a "roast" of Big Tobacco Plan events or social media with #TakeDownTobacco The team behind Salud America! is working to help young adults quit smoking with Quitxt, our free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal ...

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More Latino Men Are Dying by Suicide, Even as the National Rate Declines


Latino men suicide rates public health watch mask covid-19 sad mental health

By Jim Morris Public Health Watch While still jarringly high, U.S. suicide rates fell in 2019 and again in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month. The year-over-year rate declined by 3 percent overall, falling by 8 percent among women and 2 percent among men. But there were some stark outliers. Notably, suicides among Latino men increased by nearly 6 percent. What’s Going On? Plenty, it turns out. Problems that existed before COVID-19 got even worse during the pandemic, health advocates and providers say, including substance abuse, job loss, poor access to care and the stigma of mental illness in the Latino community. “[Latino men] weren’t getting much help to begin with,” said Fredrick Sandoval, executive director of the New ...

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Virtual Patient Education En Español: Clinical Trial Myths & Realities


latina patient doctor clinical trial patient

You are invited to join the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for a free virtual education program for patients and their families in Spanish. The event, "Los Estudios Clínicos: Los Mitos y Realidades / Clinical Trials: Myths and Realities," is set for 6 p.m. CST on March 15, 2022, via Zoom. Clinical trials are studies that help researchers learn more to help slow, manage, and treat cancer for current and future family members. But without Latino volunteers for clinical trials, the benefits may miss this group. Dr. Patricia Chalela, an associate professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, will help participants will learn about: ¿Qué es un estudio clínico? (What is a clinical trial?) ¿Cuál es la importancia de los estudios ...

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Take Action for Obesity Care Week 2022!


obesity care week

Obesity Care Week 2022 (#OCW2022) is here! From Feb. 27 to March 5, 2022, 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. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2022. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an OCW2022 Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized and those impacted struggle to receive any care in many cases, let alone adequate care," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher. It’s time to change the way we care for obesity, and OCW2022 ...

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