Articles by Amanda Merck

Texas Adopts Goal to End Traffic Deaths by 2050

June 18, 2019

At least one person has been killed in a traffic crash in Texas every day since Nov. 7, 2000. That’s why Vision Zero Texas has enabled advocates to push Texas leaders, including a letter-writing campaign (with Salud America! participation) and in-person advocacy, for strategies to improve road safety and set a goal to have zero deaths on state roads. The efforts are paying off. In May 2019, the Texas Transportation Commission voted to adopt a goal of reducing traffic fatalities on the state’s roadways to zero by the year 2050! Traffic Deaths in Texas Nearly 3,600 people died on Texas roads in 2018. Why? Human factors, like distracted driving and speeding, vehicle factors, like breaks and headlights, and roadway factors, like access points and pedestrian crossings. ...

Ohio Approves New Social and Emotional Learning Standards in Schools!

June 12, 2019

social and emotional learning school classroom kids

The Ohio State School Board this week approved social and emotional learning (SEL) standards to apply to students in K-12─and hundreds of Ohio educators and Salud America! members submitted comments to help refine those standards. Ohio now is one of only eight states with K-12 SEL standards. These standards aim to help students build emotional awareness, empathy, strong relationships, and responsible decision-making. How did this big change happen? What role did Salud America! and the public have? The Growth of SEL in Ohio Schools Students who get support for social and emotional learning in schools do better academically, socially, behaviorally, and mentally, research shows. SEL is part of a larger plan in Ohio (3.8% Latino) to prepare all students for life after high ...

Future Research, Programming Efforts Should Focus on Latino Families’ Strengths

June 7, 2019

Early childhood experiences impact early-stage development, lifelong health, and overall wellbeing. There is an urgent need to conduct research on the early home experiences of Latino children, according to a new report from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families. Current research focuses more on families’ risk factors and deficits, rather than on protective factors and strengths. Moreover, much of the research that concentrates on early home environments to date has studied white, middle-class families. Little is known about how cultural norms, beliefs, values and expectations are embedded in Latino parenting and how Latino parenting practices promote development and cognitive and social competence. The National Research Center on Hispanic Children ...

City Health Dashboard Provides New Innovative Features

June 3, 2019

Just two years after launching, the City Health Dashboard is adding new features to dig deeper into neighborhood- and city-specific data to guide local solutions to local health issues. Most data on urban areas focuses on the county, state, or national levels. The City Health Dashboard , however, pulls together local data from multiple sources to provide cities with a one-stop, regularly refreshed data center to help identify local gaps in opportunity and support decision-making to address factors that shape health. Now the Dashboard is adding new features and showcasing them at a webinar on June 5. What’s New? In June, the City Health Dashboard is giving cities additional data and new innovative features. The new data allow local leaders to dig deeper into neighborhood- ...

New York Approves America’s First Congestion Pricing Policy

May 30, 2019

After more than 10 years of advocacy, New York became the first US state to approve a plan to charge drivers to enter highly trafficked areas during peak times, known as congestion pricing. International metropolitan areas, such as London and Stockholm, have implemented similar fees for over a decade. It took a transportation crisis in midtown Manhattan—where congestion slowed drivers to nearly a walking pace—for elected officials to act on congestion pricing. The fees will go into effect by 2021 and will be dedicated to improving public transit. Hidden Costs The cumulative cost to drive a car is often the second largest household expense—which can be particularly burdensome for Latino families who are burdened by high housing costs and lack of safe, reliable ...

#SaludTues Tweetchat 6/4: Moving Beyond Social Needs to Address Social Determinants of Health

May 28, 2019

Inequities in health arise from social and structural inequities and the policies, laws, and culture that keep them in place. To address inequities that affect health, it is important to make the distinction between individual-level (midstream) interventions to address “social needs,” and community-level (upstream) interventions to address “social determinants.” Individual-level efforts to address social needs are necessary, but not enough. Characterizing these interventions as efforts to address social determinants of health conveys a false sense of progress. "If we, even inadvertently, imply that the social determinants of health can be solved by offering Uber rides to individual patients or by deploying community health navigators, it will be challenging, if not ...

How Takoma Park is Addressing Institutionalized Racism

May 28, 2019

In 2017, Takoma Park adopted a racial equity initiative to begin addressing institutionalized racism. Latinos and people of color face numerous obstacles to opportunity across the lifespan due to racial bias in policies, institutions, and systems, which further contribute to health inequity. Housing instability, for example is linked to poor health outcomes. More Latinos (56.9%) are burdened by housing costs than Whites (46.8%), meaning they have little money left over for health- and wealth-promoting assets, accord to a Salud America! research review. Leaders in Takoma Park, Maryland (14% Latino) wanted to determine whether policies—even those that are seemingly neutral—were contributing to racial inequities. Like fiscal and environmental impact statements, the city began ...

D.C. Tests Bus-Only Lane on 2 Super-Busy Streets

May 20, 2019

Everett pop-up bus lane Source TransitCenter

America’s capital is piloting a four-month bus lane project to encourage more commuters to ride the bus. Currently, buses with popular downtown routes are stuck in congestion with everyone else. However, transportation professionals in Washington, D.C. (10.7% Latino) hope to change that fact by dedicating one lane to the public during rush hour. Transportation Truths There are at least half a dozen truths to know about transportation: Vehicles pollute our cities. Vehicle traffic injuries are the leading cause of injury, death for children and young adults ages 5-24, comprising about 20% of all deaths. Crashes cost over $200 billion annually, which includes medical costs, congestion, property damage, and workplace as well as household productivity loss. Latinos and ...

#SaludTues 5/14: State of Latino Housing, Transportation & Green Space

May 7, 2019

5_14 Tweetchat_ Housing, Transportation Greenspace (1)

Where you live matters for health. However, Latinos face unaffordable housing, unreliable public transportation, and a lack of green space, which limits access to health-promoting assets. To drive solutions, Salud America! will unveil a new research review, “The State of Latino Housing, Transportation, and Green Space,” at the #SaludTues Tweetchat at 1 p.m. ET May 14, 2019. The new research review will cover the latest data on how differences in housing, transportation, green space opportunities contribute to health inequities among Latinos. The review also highlights strategies and policies to improve neighborhood health equity, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to achieve the best health possible. Join #SaludTues at 1 p.m. ET May 14, 2019, to tweet about the ...

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Amanda Merck

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