About the Author

Author Picture

Catherine Wilson

Catherine Wilson is a digital content curator for Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. She is a graduate of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland College Park, and hopes to utilize her skills to help people find their voices and inspire change in their communities.

Articles by Catherine Wilson

Food Insecurity Linked to Rise of Fatty Liver Disease in Latino Children



Childhood cases of fatty liver disease have risen over the last decade, prompting researchers to search for answers in risk factors such as genes, birthweight, and malnutrition. While studies involving adults that have fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis and food insecurity have been conducted, few focused on children — until now. A recent study assessed the influence food insecurity – living without enough food for a healthy life for all family members – on the development of fatty liver disease in 4-year-old Latino children, and discovered that food-insecure Latino children experienced a higher risk for the disease. Results of the Fatty Liver Disease Study The study involved two groups of San Francisco Latino mothers and followed their child’s development from pregnancy ...

Read More

La Representación Importa: The Need for More Latinos in Film, TV



After decades of underrepresentation, whitewashing, and villainizing, a spike of positive representation of ethnic minorities, such as Latinos, has swept into Hollywood and mainstream media. Latino pioneers like José Ferrer, Edward James Olmos, and Rita Moreno broke systemic barriers to play defining roles in an industry dominated by White actors, paving the way for future Latino actors and Latino-led projects to break from the mold. This success has led to a new wave of notable Latino standouts and projects. America Ferrera, a U.S.-born Latina of Honduran heritage, nabbed an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Barbie (2023). Pedro Pascal, born in Chile, delighted audiences in the titular role of The Mandalorian before taking the lead in HBO’s TV adaptation of video game ...

Read More

Report: The Tech Industry Needs More Latinos



Latinos continue to be one of the most underrepresented ethnic groups in high-paying jobs, such as careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Of the 34.9 million Americans working in STEM fields, only 8% are Latino as of 2021. Latinos are fewer than 10% of the workforce in the fields of health careers (9%), life science (8%), physical science (8%), computers and math (8%), and engineering (9%). The technology industry also lacks Latino representation. One in every five US workers is Latino, and only one in 10 of them have a job in tech. There even fewer in leadership tech roles, according to a new Kapor Foundation report. This paints a stark contrast to the growing number of Latinos in the US. Latinos currently make up 19.1% of the US population, and are ...

Read More

The 5 Biggest Issues Driving Young Latino Parents to the Polls



The 2024 calendar year marks a potential turning point in the federal government as the presidential election is set to take center stage in November. Latino voters could help decide the outcome. Of the over 246 million Americans projected to be registered to vote in 2024, 36.2 million are Latino, according to data published by Pew Research Center. That’s a 3.9 million increase from the last presidential election, representing the second-largest increase of any minority ethnic group. The recent rise in projected voter registration means that Latinos will have a 14.71% say in what happens in the upcoming election. So, what’s on the mind of the Latino voter? To answer, Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors partnered with UnidosUS and BSP Research to survey 1,500 Latino parents with ...

Read More

Survey: Latinos Among Students Most Likely to Withdraw from College



Latino and Black students have the greatest risk of withdrawing from post-secondary education programs, according to a recent survey by the Lumina-Gallup State of Higher Education. This finding comes at a time when institutions offering bachelor’s degrees are seeing a significant drop in enrollment — a situation exacerbated by COVID-19. Over the last decade, college enrollment has declined by 7.4%, which is the equivalent of 1.5 million students, according to Best Colleges. The biggest decline – 900,000 students – came during the pandemic years of fall 2019 and fall 2023. While the enrollment of underrepresented students such as Latinos and Blacks has somewhat improved, they are also considered to be more likely than their white peers to leave. Survey Results on College ...

Read More

Diversity of All of Us Research Data Unlocks 275 Million New Genetic Variants



For the last few years, the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program has mounted an unprecedented effort to collect health data from 1 million people of all ages and ethnicities across the country for use in impactful scientific research. In fact, the data has led researchers to a shocking discovery — 275 million previously unknown genetic variants, according to a recent news release. Nearly 4 million of the variants are in areas that may be connected to risk for disease. The variants, uncovered using data shared by nearly 250,000 All of Us participants, put researchers in a position to better understand genetic influences on health and disease, especially in diverse communities often left out of research. NIH reported that half the genomic data came from Latino, ...

Read More

First-Ever Cancer Patient Advocate Training Program Saves Seat at the Table for Latinos



Ahead of the 2024 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos Conference, 15 Latina women from across the country came together, unified by a common thread — to become a research patient advocate. This gathering, on Feb. 20, 2024, marked the first in-person meeting of the Latino Cancer Patient Advocate Training Program, a new initiative to teach cancer survivors to become research patient advocates, who help others navigate the healthcare system and raise the Latino voice in research. Patient advocates are critical to the goal of reducing Latino cancer disparities, said Dr. Barbara Segarra-Vázquez of the University of Puerto Rico, co-leader of the new program. “You really have to have passion to become a patient advocate,” said Segarra-Vazquez. “It’s that desire to help ...

Read More

Watch: Researchers, Find Data for Your Study in Free Virtual All of Us Convention



The All of Us Research Program is peeling back the curtain on its ground-breaking health data collection by hosting its annual All of Us Research Convention. On Wednesday, April 3, 2024, and Thursday, April 4, 2024, the free virtual conference will give attendees insight into how All of Us data is being used to fuel integral research that reflects the diverse country we live in. All of Us, created by the National Institutes of Health, is a historic effort to collect and study data from at least one million people living in the United States. “The goal of All of Us is to speed up health research discoveries, enabling new kinds of individualized health care, with a strong emphasis on diversity,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, an All ...

Read More

Survey: Half of Health Care Workers Say Patient Discrimination is a Major Problem



Half of all health care workers believe racism against patients is a major problem or crisis, according to a new study by The Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative (AARC). In the comprehensive study, Revealing Disparities: Health Care Workers' Observations of Discrimination in Their Field, researchers surveyed 3,000 health care workers from different ethnic backgrounds, ages, facilities, and areas of care about their thoughts and experiences with patient discrimination. “Discrimination based on race or ethnicity presents a serious barrier to obtaining high-quality, equitable health care. Because health care workers bear witness to the treatment of patients in the course of their jobs, they can provide a fuller understanding of how and where discrimination ...

Read More