Articles by Amanda Merck

Without Safeguards, SNAP Online Food Purchases Could Threaten Participants’ Privacy, Undermine their Health

July 23, 2020

Before COVID-19, families with SNAP federal food aid could not use their electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to buy groceries online. They had to go to into stores and risk infection. The good news is 37 states now have a SNAP online food purchasing programs. The bad news is that those online purchasing programs could “expose [SNAP] participants to increased data collection and surveillance, a flood of intrusive and manipulative online marketing techniques, and pervasive promotion of unhealthy foods,” according to the Center for Digital Democracy. The Center’s new report explains how federal and state policies fail to protect consumers against unhealthy food marketing, threatening the health of SNAP families. The report also recommends regulatory safeguards, industry ...

Cities Need to Drastically Scale Up Contact Tracing to Slow Coronavirus Spread

July 15, 2020

For months now, health leaders have asked Americans to flatten the COVID-19 curve by behaving as if they have been exposed─stay home, stop hanging out with friends and family, avoid public places like gyms and bars, and wear a mask when around others. This individual behavior is needed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But, at the same time, public health departments must do their part, too. They are responsible for “contact tracing”─contacting people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and those in close contact with them to give them critical information to slow disease spread: understand the possibility that they could spread the infection to others even if they themselves do not feel ill; understand what they should do to monitor themselves for ...

#SaludTues Tweetchat 7/21: Why Transit Needs to be Included in COVID-19 Recovery Plans

July 15, 2020

#SaludTues Why Transit Needs to Be Included in COVID-19 Recovery Plans

Millions of frontline workers continue to commute through the COVID-19 crisis and millions more will start back as businesses reopen. An estimated 2.8 million American workers in essential industries commute to work on transit. However, amid the economic fallout of COVID-19, many transit agencies have or anticipate having to cut service, which could hurt low-income and Latino communities who rely most on public transportation and don’t have the option to work from home, particularly in cities where transit is already infrequent and unreliable. Cuts to transit service could also hurt the millions of families who have lost jobs or lost hours and are considering selling a vehicle to save money. As local, state, and federal leaders discuss recovery plans, they need to consider ...

Why You Should Answer Calls from Your Health Department about COVID-19

July 13, 2020

Have you or someone close to you tested positive for COVID-19? You should have gotten a phone call from a local public health worker─a “case investigator” or “contact tracer”─who would give guidance on monitoring symptoms, quarantining to prevent spread, and more. But some cities don’t have enough people to make these important calls. Also, some people don’t answer or return phone calls from unknown numbers and may be uncomfortable answering questions. That is why, to reduce the spread of COVID-19, cities must invest in extensive contact tracing efforts and encourage the public to answer or return phone calls from the health department. “Case investigation and contact tracing, a core disease control measure employed by local and state health department ...

Does Your State Support Walking, Biking, and Physical Activity?

July 9, 2020

Walking and biking are critical transportation options for physical and mental health. More importantly, they are essential to get to destinations, particularly Latinos during the coronavirus pandemic — including those who are simultaneously less likely to work from home than their white peers and more likely to be impacted by job loss. When the pandemic began, the portion of auto loan accounts in financial hardship jumped from 0.64% in March to 3.54% in April, according to TransUnion. Financial hardship status is defined by factors incliuding: A deferred payment or frozen past-due payment because a person is unable to keep up with payments due to a change in financial circumstances, such as loss of a job Significant cut in hours or pay Medical illness To recover and ...

San Antonio Job Opportunity: Help with Contact Tracing to Slow COVID-19

July 6, 2020

Are you concerned about the spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in San Antonio? The UTHealth School of Public Health in San Antonio is recruiting workers on behalf of Metro Health to become Case Investigators and Contact Tracers. Case Investigators/Contact Tracers will be responsible for connecting with COVID-19 patients, as well as locating and counseling individuals those patients may have come into contact with during the course of their infection. Identifying, quarantining, and testing people exposed to a known COVID-19 patient helps end the chain of disease transmission. Apply now and share this opportunity with friends and family. You can also learn more about how COVID-19 impacts Latinos. Data Collector: Case Investigator Position Summary: This position ...

Transit and Compact Development are Solutions to Health Equity, COVID-19 Recovery

June 29, 2020

compact development is important for COVID recovery

Researchers are finding that population density is not associated with higher death rates from COVID-19. Unfortunately, some people still blame compact housing and transit for pandemic spikes, and use that misinformation to promote sprawling residential development and disinvestment in transit in the name of health. These are the same poor practices that have segregated neighborhoods and contributed to drastic disparities in health and wealth for a century. As city leaders respond to concerns about COVID transmission and develop economic recovery plans, they must challenge the discriminatory status quo, consider transportation expenses, and shift toward equitable, compact (not overcrowded) housing development. “Restoring urban transit networks to full force, expanding their ...

7 Reasons Not Everyone Can Just Hop on a Telehealth Video Call

June 23, 2020

Address Equity in the Telehealth Revolution

Delaying medical care can cause catastrophic health and financial problems. That’s why early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services temporarily expanded its telehealth coverage so physicians, nurse practitioners, clinical psychologists and licensed clinical social workers would be reimbursed for telehealth services. Other payers followed suit. Unfortunately, not everyone can just hop on a telehealth video call. Many Latinos and other vulnerable populations—older people, people experiencing domestic violence, and families with low income—face insurance, language, health literacy, digital literacy, and digital access barriers to telehealth services. Moreover, telehealth can be challenging for people with autism, intellectual and developmental ...

#SaludTues Tweetchat 6/23: Telehealth for Underserved Communities During COVID-19

June 16, 2020

#SaludTues Telehealth for underserved communities

To minimize exposure to and transmission of COVID-19, providers have rapidly transitioned to telehealth to care for patients at a distance. However, there is an absence of best practices and necessary infrastructure to expand telehealth services, particularly in underserved and Latino communities. Latinos are particularly vulnerable to this disruption in care for many reasons, such as: they have highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S.; they are less likely to have a usual source of health care; they face barriers related to differences in culture, language and beliefs; they are less likely to have broadband subscription than whites; and they face higher rates of COVID-19 due to their jobs in the service industry. Join #SaludTues on June ...

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Amanda Merck

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