Articles by Cliff Despres

Salud America! Is Thankful for You!

November 24, 2016

YOU are the reason we are so thankful this Thanksgiving. Thank you for visiting our blog, reading our posts, and most of all for your strong interest in improving Latino health! The Salud America! team, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is also thankful for the opportunity to drive messages of healthy change to inspire Latinos across the nation. We're also thankful for some recent recognition from peers. A few weeks ago we were named Best Health Advocate Reaching Latino(a)s Through Social Media by LATISM (Latinos in Social Media), a nonprofit promoting Latino issues. The national Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts also just named us winners of two W³ awards for digital ...

7 Consejos para Aliviar el Temor de Agujas en los Niños

November 21, 2016

Si hay algo que a los niños no les gustan oír, es lo siguiente: “Es tiempo recibir las vacunas.” Cuando se trata de recibir la vacuna contra la gripe, cada año muchos niños – casi un tercio de todos los niños vacunados – lo evitan y en vez reciben el “FluMist”, un método de forma de aerosol nasal que es alternativo a la inyección tradicional. Pero después de más de una década de ser un alternativo confiable, este año no está disponible debido a que el CDC ha encontrado que no es un método efectivo. Pero la inyección tradicional contra la gripe sí está disponible y es efectiva. El CDC y Kaiser Permanente recomiendan que personas mayores de seis meses deban recibir la vacuna cada año. La gripe es una enfermedad grave y la vacuna es la mejor forma de ...

The Brutal Lack of Hispanics in Genetic Research

November 18, 2016

Genetic researchers are overwhelmingly focused on white populations, which could have negative implications for the health of minorities, Vocativ reports. The report cites a new op-ed in the journal Nature that found that 81% of participants were of European descent (white) and only 19% non-European descent in all scientific studies that "correlated a genetic mutation with a particular disease." The white participant percentage, while down from 96% in the same analysis in 2009, means minorities remain vastly underrepresented. In fact, less than 1% of genetic research had Hispanic-descent participants in 2016. Only 3% of participants were of African descent. Genetic research can uncover the causes of many diseases, and allow scientists to create drugs to treat the underlying ...

Free Texting Program Can Help You Quit Smoking

November 17, 2016

Smoking is a tough opponent to beat. Quitxt is a new free text-message service that turns your mobile phone into a personal coach to help you quit smoking, using interactive and entertaining texts, online support, and music and videos from researchers at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The service’s text messages help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, finding things to do instead of smoking, handling stress, and more. To join, text “iquit” to 57682 or visit quitxt.org. “Text-message applications have scientifically proven to roughly double one’s odds of quitting smoking, so we developed Quitxt specifically for young adult Latinos to help them quit for good,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, study leader and director of the Institute for Health ...

Apply Now: Latino Cancer Research Training and Internships

November 15, 2016

Participants gather for a group photo at a past Exito Summer Institute.

Apply now for the 2017 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program and optional $3,250 internships at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Éxito! (English: Success!) recruits trainees annually for a culturally tailored curriculum to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research career. This year, program leaders will select 25 master’s level students and professionals from across the country to take part in a five-day summer institute June 5-9, 2017, in San Antonio to provide resources needed to take the next step in their education and apply for doctoral programs. The summer institute also brings Latino researchers and mentors to teach participants about cancer prevention, research, and ...

Tell Grocers: Mark the Way to Fruits & Veggies!

November 14, 2016

latina mom in grocery store with fruits and vegetables

Does your supermarket prominently feature unhealthy foods? You’re invited to sign a Salud America! and Care2 letter campaign asking grocery stores to use labels, floor arrows, and other marketing strategies to promote fruit and veggie options for Latino families. Fruits and veggies are critical to help kids grow up at a healthy weight. Access to, and purchases of, affordable healthy foods tends to improve when healthy food offerings are expanded and promoted in underserved communities, according to Salud America! research. But some grocers’ marketing, placement, and store design nudges families toward unhealthy foods. The new letter campaign asks members of state grocery store associations to consider changes like: adding green arrows on the floor to guide ...

Can Salad Boost Latino Health in NY’s Least Healthy County?

November 11, 2016

Restaurant owners and a nonprofit group are working to push a new salad on menus in hopes of improving health in the Bronx, New York's least healthy county. The Bronx Salad aims to appeal to the large local Latino populations with familiar ingredients, including plantain chips, corn, beans, red onions, cilantro, and a dash of hot sauce, according to a report by NY1. The salad was created by Chef King Phojanakong. "When you think of the Bronx, maybe think of hot dogs, Yankee Stadium, a lot of fast food," Phojanakong told NY1, noting the Bronx salad as a healthy alternative that locals can make easily themselves with lettuce from a rooftop garden and veggies from other community gardens. "We didn't want to create a salad with things that are so difficult to get." Access to ...

The Diverse Beauty of the Hispanic Workforce

November 10, 2016

The United States is home to 24 million workers of Hispanic descent. These workers, often referred to as a single entity, come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, each with their own unique labor challenges in terms of education, poverty, location, language, and access to health and retirement benefits, according to a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Key findings are below in each topic area: Demographics Workers of Mexican descent are by far the largest subgroup of the Hispanic workforce (14.9 million). Women make up only 43.3% of the overall Hispanic workforce, but they are a majority of several subgroups, including Panamanians (58.1%), Bolivians (53.2%), and Paraguayans (51%). About two-thirds of Hispanic workers are U.S. citizens – ...

Noviembre: Mes de Doncientización sobre el Cáncer y la Salud Masculina

November 9, 2016

Existen muchos tipos de cáncer que afectan en mayor medida a los hombres, y entre ellos muchas afecciones que son más comunes entre la población hispana. GobiernoUSA.gov le entrega información útil sobre la salud masculina y la forma de prevenir el cáncer durante noviembre, mes en que muchos hombres se dejan crecer la barba o el bigote como forma de participar en las campañas de concientización sobre esta enfermedad. Es importante que los hombres hispanos sean proactivos en su cuidado de salud. El cáncer de próstata, por ejemplo, es el de mayor presencia en todas las razas. El cáncer colorrectal es el segundo de mayor presencia entre los latinos, mientras que el cáncer de pulmón es tercero en prevalencia entre los hombres hispanos (según cifras oficiales de los Centros ...

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Cliff Despres

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