Sylvia Lopez knows low-income mothers need lots of support in South Texas and San Antonio. Lopez knows the research that shows Latino kids start kindergarten behind their peers, experience many childhood traumas, and are at risk of not getting the proper care, services, and environment they need for healthy formative development. That's why Lopez is connecting in-need pregnant women to home visits from nurses to ensure healthier pregnancies, families, and children, through a South Texas application of a national program—the Nurse-Family Partnership. See how the program works and how it's helping South Texas moms, children, and families!
The National Nurse-Family Partnership
The Nurse-Family Partnership got its start in the 1970s. David Olds, who had just graduated from ...
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) wants your input to shape transportation planning and spending across the state for the next 10 years, in what is known as the Unified Transportation Program (UTP). The UTP will guide construction, development, and related activities for 13,000 projects. However, the program prioritizes congestion relief over safety, connectivity, and economic development, says nonprofit Farm & City. You can speak up for transportation that prioritizes Texans’ wellbeing! Copy one of the model public comments drafted by our Salud America! research team, click the “submit” button, and paste the comment on txdot.gov’s comments website by Aug. 20, 2018. Be sure to click “No” in the required field asking if this is a complaint.
Model ...
Did you know one new case of Alzheimer’s disease occurs every 65 seconds in the United States? Sadly, U.S. Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than whites, studies show. Alcohol, sleep deprivation, and diabetes play a role. This can stress Latino family caregivers. Preventing Alzheimer’s is critical as the young Latino population ages. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, to tweet about the latest research and beneficial strategies and programs to prevent and reduce Alzheimer's Disease among Latinos and all people! WHAT: #SaludTues Bilingual Tweetchat─Tackling the Latino Alzheimer's Crisis
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
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In the past decade, the National Dropout Prevention Center has aired 99 free webcasts to push for school success and dropout prevention. The 100th webcast, will feature John Hernandez, a Salud America! Salud Hero extraordinaire, on Aug. 14, 2018. Hernandez is the director of student services at East Central Independent School District (ECISD) in San Antonio, TX (68% Latino). He began to uncover that the reasons for student absenteeism went beyond Texas' at-risk indicators—a parent in jail or in hospice, loss of a loved one, immigration or deportation of family members, bullying, food insecurity, unstable housing arrangements, divorce, and many more. So Hernandez started got the support of the ECISD superintendent and started a committee to address these ...
A leading pediatricians’ group is warning families on chemicals in processed food and the use of plastic food containers, while encouraging more whole fruits and vegetables, according to The New York Times. Previous studies have shown how chemicals used in an array of fast food packaging can be dangerous to consumers. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents 67,000 of U.S. children’s doctors, have released a statement and technical report that is concerned about rising evidence "that certain chemicals that enter foods may interfere with the body’s natural hormones in ways that may affect long-term growth and development." The pediatrician’s group is asking for further rigorous testing and regulation on the countless of food additive chemicals as well as ...
More than 60% of U.S. Latinos struggle to communicate with a healthcare provider due to a language or cultural barriers, according to a new poll. In response, these Latinos rely on family or other healthcare providers for help, according to the poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 1 in 4 of these Latinos even look into translating services to help with health issues. The new poll supports past findings that 83% of Latinos report obtaining some of their health-related information from media sources (TV, Internet, etc.) and that 70% list family, friends, churches, or community groups as their main sources of health information. "The language and cultural barriers in health care for Latinos are something advocates have been pointing out for years," ...
Does your town have a farmers market? If not, you might miss out on healthy fresh produce. Farmers may fail to engage in the local economy. To celebrate the Farmers Market Coalition's National Farmers Market Week on Aug. 5-11, 2018, we at Salud America! are showcasing the benefits of farmers markets as a way to increase access to fruits and vegetables among Latino and all populations!
Farmers Markets Can Help Latinos
Latinos frequently live in food swamps. In these swamps, Latinos have no easy access to supermarkets and farmers’ markets, while abundant access to fast food and corner stores. This results in overconsumption of unhealthy foods, according to a Salud America! research review. The number of U.S. farmers’ markets has more than doubled. But many of these markets ...
Want to help help Latino and all kids achieve good health? Check out new research that identifies several key ways to reduce sugary drink consumption among children ages 0-5. The research, published in July 2018 in the journal Obesity Reviews by Healthy Eating Research, analyzed 27 studies that assessed an intervention to decrease sugary drink consumption is high-income countries. "Overall, evidence suggests that interventions successful at reducing SSB consumption among 0- to 5-year-olds often focused on vulnerable populations, were conducted in preschool/daycare settings, specifically targeted only SSBs or only oral hygiene, included multiple intervention strategies, and had higher intervention intensity/contact time," according to the research.
Strategy Suggestions From The ...
Our roads and walkways could be our path to good health and wellbeing. But cities are stuck in a rut of prioritizing cars over people. Thankfully, over the past decade, many organizations are contributing to the growing body of health and safety research and advocacy to influence transportation projects and policies.
Knowing the Impact
In 2012, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a research brief and infographic on how transportation affects health. “Health costs associated with traffic crashes, air pollution, and physical inactivity add up to hundreds of billions of dollars each year, but health is typically not considered in transportation policy and planning,” the 2012 Health Policy Snapshot Issue Brief states.
Changing the Speed Limit
In 2011, the AAA ...
