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Eric Moreno

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.

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Articles by Eric Moreno

Detroit-Area Schools among the Most Segregated in the U.S.



Economic segregation in America’s school systems is a growing concern that many education advocates are becoming alarmed about. According to new data from the research organization EdBuild, the most “guilty” of economic segregation – separating students from financially wealthy families homes from those that come from financially poor families and homes – are not concentrated in any one region of the country. School districts in Southern states, those where years of racial tension and inequality are still felt in many places, were mostly absent from the top 50 most economically segregated. Only two schools from Birmingham, Ala. (3.5% Latino population) were among the most segregated when comparing poverty rates. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...

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Latinos Often Do Not Receive Treatment for Depression



According to a new study from the Columbia University Medical Center, most Americans – including a majority of Latinos – who screen positive for depression don’t receive treatment for it. Also, many who do receive treatment, don’t appear to have the disorder. “Over the last several years there has been an increase in prescription of antidepressants,” said Mark Olfson, lead author of the study. “In that context, many people assumed that undertreatment of depression is no longer a common problem.” Olfson found the opposite was true after analyzing the data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys in 2012 and 2013. Asked if they had been screened for adults, 8.4% of the more than 46,000 adults answered in ways suggested they had depression. Only 28.7% who appeared ...

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Cancer Catching Up to Heart Disease as No. 1 Killer


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According to the National Vital Statistics System, more people died from cancer than heart disease in 22 states during 2014. This is a substantial uptick from 2002, when only two states (Alaska and Minnesota) had more cancer deaths than heart disease-related ones. “This might be due to obesity, which is a risk factor for both heart disease and cancer,” explained Dr. Paolo Boffetta, a professor of environmental medicine and public health at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved in the study. “Cancer deaths gaining on deaths related to heart disease might be explained by the fact that treatment for cancer is more complex, and we are not able to treat cancer as effectively as cardiovascular disease yet.” For Latinos, cancer is already the leading cause ...

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Community Health Centers Engage Latinos in Mental Health, Nutrition, Fitness



Many Latinos in Minnesota get “left out,” of the healthcare picture. That’s why HealthFinders Collaborative aims to provider healthcare and services to marginalized families in Rice county, nearly 50 miles south of Minneapolis and St. Paul. But HealthFinders leaders like Charlie Mandile continued to identify gaps in local healthcare. Mandile and his team came up with a solution a few years ago: the Pura Vida Healthy Lifestyles Program, an effort to bring free preventive health and fitness classes to the local rapidly growing Latino population. How has the effort paid off? Gaps in Latino health in Minnesota HealthFinders Collaborative, community health centers in Northfield, Minn. (8% Latino population), and Faribault, Minn. (11.74% Latino population) formed to ...

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Pregnancy Mortality Rates Have Doubled in Texas



A new study shows an inexplicable doubling in the number of women dying from pregnancy complications in Texas, the San Antonio Current reports. Authors of the study, soon to be published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, indicated the trend seems isolated to the Lone Star State. They don't speculate on reasons behind the trend, but highlight the possible linkage between the increase in maternal mortality rates and the Texas Legislature’s decrease in funding to family planning agencies in 2011. Vital statistics personnel in Texas and at the National Center for Health Statistics couldn’t determine that there was a correlation between the two incidences. “There were some changes in the provision of women's health services in Texas from 2011 to 2015, including the ...

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Affordable Healthcare Options for Latinos Available in 2017



According to information released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), even if rates were to increase in 2017 by double digits, over 70% of consumers on HealthCare.gov will still be able to purchase a plan for less than $80 per month. Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law, prices for plans have risen. In a hypothetical scenario, one in where all rates increase by 25%, the HHS found the vast majority of consumers (73%) would be able to purchase coverage for less than $75 per month. All Marketplace premiums will be finalized and made public this coming October. “[Rate increases reported in the headlines] do not reflect what consumers actually pay,” said Kathryn Martin, Acting Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. “Our study shows that, even ...

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Longer Commutes Can Hurt Your Health and Waistline



If someone told you their commute to work took them an hour, how would you react? Would you nod your head in agreement? Envy their short trip? Feel sympathetic for how much time they spend driving each day? Most would nod their heads in agreement in England and Wales, where a recent study identified one of the longest average commute times—56 minutes—in the world. The average U.S. commute time is 25.4 minutes. That's bad for your health, according to the study by the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH), CNN reports. In fact, researchers found the average long commuter added almost 800 calories to their weekly diet due to what they consume on the road. “There is a noticeable decline in health and well-being if you have a longer commute,” said Emma Lloyd, policy ...

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New Programs will Address Health Disparities



The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) is launching the Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers (TCC) for Health Disparities Research on Chronic Disease Prevention program. The goal of the programs are to address the health disparities in chronic diseases between racial and ethnic minorities, including Latinos. The new centers will focus their research efforts on “development, implementation, and dissemination” of community-based, multi-level interventions. These will be aimed at combating heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The centers will share nearly $20 million in funding over five years. “Multilevel interventions that take into account complex interactions between individuals and their environments can better address determinants of ...

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The U.S. Lags on Social Spending that Affects Health Outcomes



The United States spends far more on health care than any other developed nation; a record 17.5% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2014 was spent on health care. However, life expectancy in the U.S. is lower, maternal and infant mortality is higher. Also, the prevalence of chronic illness is far more common in the U.S. than in European countries. These poor health outcomes are also connected to another type of spending where the country falls far below multiple European countries. In terms of social services that target education, housing, nutrition and poverty, the U.S. is spending significantly less. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) analyzed this spending in 2011 and found the ratio of social service to medical care spending was associated with “better health ...

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