Racism and discrimination are among Latinos’ biggest barriers to healthcare. Driven by years of social, structural, and institutionalized racism, Latinos and other people of color face inequities in care and mistrust of the healthcare system. This prompts reluctance to receive life-saving care or health screenings. Putting off care can result in a delayed diagnosis and prolonged and more expensive medical treatment for chronic diseases, such as cancer, leading to worse health outcomes. But how widespread is discrimination in healthcare? Doctors are more likely to use negative language when referencing Black and Latino patients in medical records, according to a new study in JMIR Medical Informatics. Let’s unpack the study and the meaning behind the results. ...
High blood pressure is a silent killer (el asesino silencioso in Spanish) that can spur heart disease and stroke among Latinos. We addressed heart health at UT Health San Antonio’s webinar, “How to Fight El Asesino Silencioso,” at 11 a.m. Central on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in advance of Hispanic Heritage Month. This webinar featured experts from UT Health San Antonio, the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), and Genentech to share resources and culturally relevant tools that Latino families and healthcare workers can use to help prevent, treat, and manage high blood pressure, also called hypertension. This is a part of a webinar series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for ...
Our collaborative bilingual video — Why Hispanic Representation Matters — was a "Silver Winner" at both the 2024 W³ Awards and the 45th Annual Telly Awards! The video, created by Genentech with help from the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, the team behind Salud America!, shows why Latino participation in clinical trials is important for the future of clinical research. Clinical trials are studies with volunteers that can help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat different cancer and disease. “This massive underrepresentation of Latinos in clinical trials makes it hard for researchers to develop new treatments for this group, which suffers a heavy burden of cancer,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the ...
Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for many diseases, including cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Physical inactivity has a 25.3% prevalence in the US, where about 60% of adults say they are physically inactive as of 2020, according to the CDC. That’s why the CDC launched a campaign to get people moving. Active People, Healthy Nation is striving to help 27 million Americans be more physically active by 2027 and getting 10 million adults and 2 million young people to meet the minimum aerobic physical activity guideline. Salud America! is stepping up to help by partnering with the initiative's Moving Matters campaign to get the word out. Let’s dig into some of the short-term and long-term benefits of regular physical ...
School supplies, news clothes, and annual check-ups at the doctor are just a few things on a parent’s checklist for the start of a new school year. But don’t let one major part of a child’s health slip out of sight. Vision and eye health!
Advocating for Children’s Eye Health
Uncorrected vision problems can hinder child development, interfere with learning, and even lead to permanent vision loss. That is why Prevent Blindness Texas, an eye health and safety organization, is working to prevent blindness and preserve sight among children and adults by providing support and resources related eye health at all ages. “Early detection and treatment of eye problems are critical,” according to organization. To promote early detection of eye issues among children, ...
Signs of cognitive impairment and early dementia among Latinos and other people of color are often missed by healthcare providers in busy primary care settings. Now, a new test could help improve cognitive care for these patients. Recently, Dr. Joe Verghese and researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine created a culturally unbiased cognitive assessment tool called 5-Cog. The 5-Cog, which takes five minutes to complete, could help identify cognitive concerns and open avenues for diagnosis and treatment for dementia, according to a news release from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Let’s explore the new test and how it could benefit Latinos with dementia.
How Does the 5-Cog Work?
The 5-Cog test is for older adults who have concerns about their cognitive ...
Cancer continues to be a leading cause of death in Latinos. Systemic racism and discrimination have led to disproportionate exposure to risk factors for cancer, such as obesity, diabetes, and stress. These risk factors are compounded by the social and economic inequities such as access to healthy foods, transportation, and health insurance that many Latinos face, making it difficult to seek healthcare, culminating in worse health outcomes. Another big factor is driving worse health for Latinos – a lack of preventative care. 64% of Latinos skipped recommended health screenings, such as colonoscopies, pap smears, mammograms, and more, according to a news release about the second annual Wellness Matters Survey published by Aflac. Let’s unpack the survey ...
Latinos and other group that experience health disparities are frequently underrepresented in spine pain clinical trials, according to an analysis from eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The study, published by National Institute of Health and funded by the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, found a lack of participation among racial/ethnic populations and other minority groups. Let’s look further into the data and how it impacts Latinos.
Representation in Clinical Trials on Spinal Pain
The analysis points out that, while RCTs are considered the gold standard study design for evaluating treatment effectiveness, they can suffer from generalizability issues. In other words, the findings of these studies can’t be generalized to the U.S. ...
Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths for Latinos. Cases of Latino cancer are expected to rise by 142% in the coming years. How can we address this? Ahead of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are bringing attention to Latino cancer care inequities. Let’s use #SaludTues on Sept. 3, 2024, to explore the racial/ethnic inequities in cancer prevention, screening, care, and treatment, as well as share ways – from clinical trial diversity to patient advocacy to survivor support – we can create better cancer outcomes for Latinos. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “Creating Better Cancer Outcomes for Latinos” WHERE: Twitter/X WHEN: 1-2 p.m. ET (12-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024 HOST: Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio ...
