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Josh McCormack

Digital Content Curator, Salud America! Josh McCormack joined Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health​ San Antonio, in February 2019. Graduating from Texas A&M University with a BA in English Literature, he has previously worked in journalism and publishing. Josh enjoys reading; some of his favorite authors include Stephen King, Omar El Akkad and J.R.R. Tolkien.​

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Articles by Josh McCormack

Report: Early Life Smoking Drastically Raises Heart Disease Risk


Early Smoking Heart Disease Risk Twitter

Smoking kills, and it’s not just lung cancer — but heart disease, too. Smoking, especially those who begin at a young age, seriously increases a person’s risk of cardiovascular issues, including incidences of mortality, according to recent data from the Journal of the American Heart Association. Smokers, especially those who began the habit before adolescence, showed a correlated increase in cardiovascular-related deaths. “Age at starting to smoke is an important, but underappreciated, determinant of adult cardiovascular mortality, and this study indicates that the [roughly] 5 million US smokers who began before age 15 years are at especially high risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease if they do not quit,” the study states. “If the associations between ...

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Extremely COVID-19 High Rates among Latino Farm, Food Workers


COVID-19 Latino Farm Food Workers

Nearly three-fourths of all coronavirus cases in some of the country’s most critical industries are happening among Latinos, the group already experiencing harsh burdens from the virus. Of the 5,721 workers in food processing, food manufacturing, and agriculture fields who tested positive for COVID-19 early in the outbreak, 72.8% were Latino, according to October 2020 data from the CDC. These numbers shouldn’t come as a total surprise, based on the conditions these laborers face in the workplace, said Dr. S. Patrick Kachur, a population and family health professor at Columbia University. "Workers come and go from the workplace on a daily basis,” Kachur told TODAY Food. “If they are living in communities with widespread transmission, or households with other persons who ...

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Study: Secondhand Smoke Is Sending Children to the Hospital


Secondhand Smoke Sending Children Hospital

Exposure to the fumes from harmful tobacco products, such as cigarettes and cigars, can severely affect people, especially in children. Recent research shows that children who live with a smoker are more likely to become hospitalized than their peers living in smoke-free households. According to Dr. Ashley Merianos, an associate professor in the School of Human Services at the University of Cincinnati, this data does not come as a complete surprise. "In past studies, we found up to nearly one-in-two children who come to the pediatric emergency department are exposed to tobacco smoke," Merianos told The Denver Channel. "We also found that the children who had been exposed had increased respiratory-related procedures, increased diagnostic testing. So, for example, being tested for ...

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What Are COVID-19 Long Haulers and Are Latinos at Risk?


COVID-19 ‘Long Haulers’ Latinos Long-Term Risk

Not all COVID-19 experiences are equal. For some, the illness’s side effects can last for weeks or even months. This group of severely affected individuals, referred to as “long haulers” by experts, is experiencing infection and lasting consequences. These maladies include shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and other symptoms. While there is only a general understanding of those who deal with prolonged coronavirus side-effects, there is enough data to see there is a problem, according to officials. “Anecdotally, there’s no question that there are a considerable number of individuals who have a postviral syndrome that really, in many respects, can incapacitate them for weeks and weeks following so-called recovery and clearing of the virus,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, ...

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Texas’ Digital Divide and its Impact Latino Students


Texas Digital Divide Latino Students

Children across the Lone Star State have returned to school — still, some learners are adjusting to the new way of learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic better than others. As educators rely on web-based teaching more each day, the students who lack sufficient internet access face significant hardship. In Texas, 1.8 million K-12 public school students, many of whom come from disadvantaged groups, including Latinos, find themselves among those struggling to learn. “Families that are suffering from the digital divide are dealing with a lot,” Carlotta Garcia, a Central Texas Interfaith organizer, told The Texas Observer. “These are families dealing with life and death. Right now, they’re dealing with food, medicine, sickness, and the threat of displacement.” Lack of ...

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Report: ICE Allegedly Gives Detained Immigrants Hysterectomies Without Full Consent


ICE Detained Immigrants Hysterectomies

Among the horrific forms of treatment undocumented individuals face, a new report claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) performs hysterectomies on immigrant women. The shocking details, obtained through a complaint filed by Project South, assert that a gynecologist at the Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC) in Georgia performed these procedures — without providing a full understanding of the operation. Sometimes, they didn't even give these details in their native language, according to the report. Dawn Wooten, a former nurse at the detention center and the whistleblower of this complaint provided insight into the alleged practice. "Everybody [that the accused gynecologist] sees has a hysterectomy — just about everybody," Wooten said in the complaint. ...

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Delta Dental Institute: Reflecting On Hispanic Heritage Month


Dental health Reflecting Hispanic Heritage Month

By Vivian Vasallo Executive Director of the Delta Dental Institute As a Latina leader in health care, I am proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and the many contributions Latinos have made to our country, especially in healthcare. This month is a time to celebrate the progress that has been made and soberly examine where we have more work to do to improve disparities in access to care and diversity in the health – and oral health – fields. At the Delta Dental Institute, we aim to close the gap in oral health access and outcomes faced by Latinos in the U.S. through our community engagement, research, and advocacy efforts. Latinos have long been making important contributions to the nation’s health care, going back as early as the 1500s with Francisco Bravo authoring ...

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How the Coronavirus is Quietly Killing Off Latino Workers


Coronavirus Quietly Killing Latino Workers

The COVID-19 death toll has nearly reached 200,000 in America — a number that, at one time, was one of the highest estimates from health professionals. Nevertheless, America still finds itself in the grips of a pandemic. Worse, Latinos and other people of color who face the toughest social and health inequities are also experiencing the hardest coronavirus impacts and outcomes across the nation. This is true in California, where the death rate among working-age Latinos has skyrocketed, according to a recent report from UCLA. “As the coronavirus works its deadly way into every nook and cranny of California’s population, its victims’ profiles become clearer and clearer: they are the unsung essential workers,” researchers from the University’s Center for the Study of ...

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How Do People of Color Feel about the Social Determinants of Health?


People of Color Feel Social Determinants Health

Health has become a huge priority in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. People of color, who face COVID-19 disparities as the virus worsens systemic social and economic inequities, are increasingly worried about holistic health. More Black and Latino Texans believe that the areas of life not typically associated with medical care—housing, education, racism, and other social determinants—directly impact their overall health than their white peers, according to a recently published survey from the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF). "Texans across racial backgrounds agree that many non-medical factors like good air quality and clean water, community safety, and amount of stress are vital to a person's health," EHF writes in a recent press release. "But researchers ...

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