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Pramod Sukumaran

Sukumaran completed a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology and an MPH in Population Health Analytics. He curates content for Salud America! on family support and health projects at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. His emphases is on the latest research, reports and resources related to various disease and policies, to improve Latino health.

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Articles by Pramod Sukumaran

California Passes Landmark Law: Statewide Rent Control, Eviction Protections


Latino minority family moving into affordable housing for health equity

More than most states, California is plagued by rising housing costs. Recently California lawmakers approved a statewide rent cap, covering millions of tenants, the biggest step yet in a surge of initiatives to address an affordable-housing in the state. California’s housing activists won a major victory in mid-September when the state legislature passed, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Oct. 8, 2019. The New Housing Law The new law is also know as Assembly Bill 1482. The key features of the new law are: The new law will limit annual rent hikes to 5% plus the regional cost-of-living increase, or a maximum of 10% per year. Tenants will also receive eviction protections after living in an apartment for a year, meaning they cannot be ousted without a reason such as ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 10/15: Latinos and AIDS: Problems + Solution


stop-hiv-aids-latinos-hispanics-tweetchat

1 in 6 Latinos living with HIV/AIDS don't even know they have it. With 10,292 Latinos newly diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. in 2016, this population group needs access to culturally competent care and prevention education. To celebrate Natinoal Latinx AIDS awareness day (Oct. 15) and Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), let’s use #SaludTues on Oct. 15, 2019, to tweet about Latinos and HIV/AIDS WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Latinos and AIDS: Problems + Solution DATE/TIME: Noon CT (1 p.m. ET) Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: The National Latino AIDS Awareness Day @NLAAD, PublicHealthMaps @PublicHealthMap, Communicate for Health Justice @_CFHJ, Eudes Foundation USA @FEudesUSA, US Department of Health ...

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U.S. Latinos’ GDP Equates to World’s Eighth-Largest Economy


Latinos GDP Economy

U.S. Latinos would have a larger economy than Brazil if they were its own country. In fact, they would have the eighth-largest economy in the world, according to the Latino Donor Collective (LDC) U.S. Latino GDP 2019 report. LDC partnered with American economic and demographic experts to collect this data. The report aims to factually illustrate Latinos' role as a powerhouse in contributing to the American economy, according to Matthew Fienup, executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University and one of the authors of the report. “Given robust population growth, high labor force participation, rising incomes, and strong increases in educational attainment, we expect the significant growth premium enjoyed by U.S. Latinos to ...

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How Dallas Is Using a Land Bank Program to Drive Affordable Housing


dallas land bank affordable housing

Dallas families needs 20,000 affordable housing apartment or single-family units. That kind of housing shortfall, which can make it hard for Latino and other low-income families to afford health care and other health-promoting assets, requires action from city leaders in a variety of ways. Enter the Dallas Land Bank Program. The program, halted two years ago, is back to provide "lots to builders in underdeveloped parts of town to boost the amount of housing for low to middle-income families," according to Reform Austin. "This is really a great way for the city to take unproductive land, put it back into production, and create affordable housing with this program all at one time," David Drury, manager of the Dallas Land Bank Program, told cbsdfw.com. How the Dallas Land Bank ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 10/1: How to Address Breast Cancer Among Latinas


diverse exercise disease prevention breast cancer job walk run

Breast cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of Latinas in the U.S. Fortunately, Latinas can take steps to reduce their own risk for breast cancer, and community and healthcare leaders can promote prevention, screening, and early detection. To celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) and Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), let’s use #SaludTues on Oct. 1, 2019, to tweet about the latest progress in Latina breast cancer research, the importance of breast cancer screening, and tips for prevention and survivorship! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: How to Address Breast Cancer among Latinas DATE/TIME: Noon CST (1 p.m. ET) Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: National Hispanic Medical Association ...

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Transforming Old Buildings into New Affordable Housing


Housing Urban Construction

In recent years, housing affordability in the U.S has emerged as a key issue that increasingly affects low-income households and millions of middle-class renters. People across age demographics' ideals concerning housing are shifting — hoping to find an urban experience. This movement is in contrast with the suburban American dream of the past. However, rental rates are rising and wages are stagnating, which is causing neighborhoods to struggle and putting pressure on the housing development industry. In the coming years, much of the increase in both population and in households will be among precisely those groups that today are being left behind in homeownership growth. Our older and historic neighborhoods now have a new mission to provide homes for the young, for new ...

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Report: More Latinos, Other People Go Without Health Insurance


Health Overhaul Texas

The proportion of Americans with no health insurance coverage increased for the first time in a decade, even as poverty is declining, according to new census data. In 2018, 27.5 million Americans did not have health insurance, an increase of 1.9 million people from the 2017. The rate of Americans lacking coverage rose from 7.9 to 8.5 percent of the population. The percentage of uninsured children increased by 0.6 percentage points between 2017 and 2018, to 5.5%. Minorities shouldered higher disparities. Latino kids saw the sharpest rise in uninsured rates compared to other races, from 7.7% uninsured to 8.7%. This, even as the poverty rate fell last year to its lowest level since 2001. The decline in poverty and increase in uninsured people seems to "reverse the trend ...

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Can Immigrant Tenant Protection Laws Help Latinos?


landlord tenant immigrant protection apartment renter latio couple

Illinois has joined California as the second U.S. state to enact immigrant tenant protection law. State Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed a new law to prevent landlords from disclosing or threatening to disclose a tenant’s citizenship status to authorities for the purpose of intimidating or eviction. The law prevents landlords from, in essence, blackmailing tenants. Ilinois modeled its law after California, which passed its tenant protections in 2018. “Where you were born has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to pay rent on time, which is what the relationship between a landlord and a tenant should really be about,” Pritzker said, according to the Chicago Trubine. Inside the New Immigrant Tenant Protection Act? Illinois' new immigrant tenant protection act ...

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Did Obamacare Reduce Gaps in Latino Health Insurance Coverage?



When the Obama administration passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, one of its main goals was to expand healthcare insurance access, especially to uninsured, mid- to low-income Americans — a classification in which many Latinos find themselves. Since that time, the ACA provided millions of Americans with health insurance coverage, primarily through an expansion of Medicaid eligibility and subsidies for private coverage purchased through the legislation’s marketplaces. The ACA has expanded and improved coverage options for people without access to a job-based health plan, the law mostly left the employer market alone. "All racial groups have experienced substantial increases in their health insurance coverage," Algernon Austin, with the Center for Global Policy Solutions ...

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