Eric Moreno is a Content Curator with the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio. He specializes in covering the topics of health equity and family and social support. He holds a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MA from Gonzaga University.
Good oral health is essential for kids and their overall health. For Latino kids though, it’s not always so simple. Most kids have their first dental visit by age 7. For Latinos, their first visit is closer to age 16! While lack of dental insurance is most often the reason for such a late start, there is another culprit. Sugar. The average child in the United States now consumes over half of her body weight in sugar every year. Much of this sugar comes from sugary drinks. Too Much Sugar is Bad! Too much sugar can lead to serious health issues, like obesity, diabetes, and poor oral health. Some populations, such as Latinos experience much higher oral disease rates than the general population. About half of all U.S. Latino children have experienced cavities and, in ...
Kindergarten is a crucial time for all young students. It is the time when the foundations of fundamental learning skills are laid and can greatly impact the rest of a student’s academic career. Kindergarten is especially crucial for children when it comes to language learning. For Latinos and other low-income kids, they face the additional challenge of having obstacles in place at school and at home. “Children may go from a home with limited physical and psychological resources for learning and language to a school with similar constraints, resulting in a double dose of disadvantage,” said Susan Neuman professor of childhood and literacy education at New York University in an interview with Medine Plus. Neuman and her colleges followed 70 kindergarteners in Michigan (4.72% ...
Lack of affordable housing has strong implications for many Latinos and greatly impacts their quality of life. Many Latinos live in racially segregated, low-income, high-poverty areas with limited access to fresh, healthy foods, quality healthcare, and physical activity spaces. Also, many areas restrict Latinos access to opportunities impacting their choice of school or their children and limits their chance to obtain higher paying jobs. For those living in rural areas, the access to affordable housing is often even more limited. According to the non-profit group, Smart Growth America, the cost of living in rural areas is generally lower than in metro areas, yet many residents of rural cities and towns nevertheless struggle to afford the homes and apartments available in those ...
Attaining an education is one of the key social determinants of health. For many Latinos, getting an education beyond high school prevents them from obtaining a higher quality of life. While more and more Latinos are enrolling in two- and four-year universities, the gap in achievement is still vast between them and their white peers. Excelencia in Education, a non-profit organization founded to accelerate higher education access for Latino students, was recently announced as the recipient of a $1.5 million in grants from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and Lumina Foundation to “expand strategies that accelerate Latino student success in higher education.” “This important collaboration highlights Lumina’s continued commitment to accelerate Latino student ...
Where you live determines so much about your overall quality of life. For many Latinos, housing segregation limits their access to quality education, healthcare, and opportunities and often limits them in what they can do for employment. In the city of San Francisco, Calif. (15.3% Latino population), city planners have been seeking input from residents on a new 130-unit housing project in the historic Mission area. According to CBS News, San Francisco is the fourth most expensive city to live in in the United States. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get involved. The rising costs for housing (the median home price there is $820,000) have simply ...
As the Latino population continues to grow in numbers – 1 in every 4 people by 2035 is expected to be Latino – their influence on the overall country is expected to mirror that growth. Despite their large numbers, many Latinos still face inequities in several key health indicators that prevent them from obtaining quality healthcare and financial stability. In an effort to promote awareness for important Latino issues The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Policy Studies Center will host the inaugural Latino Policy Symposium from May 4-5. The event will bring together Latino leaders, community advocates, and researchers from across the heavily Latino-populated state of Texas (38.42% Latino population). Texas is currently the state with the second-largest Latino population in ...
For many Latinos a lack of access to opportunities keep them from achieving health equity and obtaining financial security. However, a recent study from the financial website WalletHub paints a very positive picture of where things could be heading. Latinos are already the largest ethnic and racial minority in the country and their numbers are growing at consistent and exponential rates. They are already sizable contributors to the nation's economy and with their increasing numbers, they were already expected to add more to in the coming years. However, WalletHub anticipates these numbers to be “nothing short of monumental.” In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, ...
Latinos are already the nation's largest racial and ethnic minority group. Their numbers continue to grow and are expected to increase from 1 in 6 today to 1 in 3 by 2060. They also continuously face numerous health disparities compared to whites. Even among Latinos, there are inequities – especially between Latino men and Latina women. According to research, Latino men are much less likely to engage in accessing the healthcare than Latina women. With reasons ranging from cultural – such as stigma and language barriers – to economical, Latino men are far less likely to seek medical treatment, often to greater future detriment. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect ...
Findings from a new report shed light on the state of Latino children and the education gap many face as they enter kindergarten. According to a study entitled “Making Math Count More for Young Latino Children” by Child Trends, Latino students are three months behind in math literacy compared to their white peers. Citing poverty in Latino households as one of the main causes, the study cautions that the education gap would only grow if not addressed immediately in the classroom. As the Latino population in the U.S. continues to grow – they are already the largest ethnic and racial minority in the country – this problem is going to be critical going forward. One in four U.S. kindergarteners today is Latino and in California and New Mexico, Latino children are already in the ...
