Latino children and youth face more poverty and greater gaps in education and health than their White peers, according to the 2018 County Health Rankings. Sadly, this puts Latino kids at a disadvantage when it comes to becoming successful adults. How can we help connect these kids to better opportunities? Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, to tweet about the state of Latino health and what leaders and groups can do to advance health equity and opportunity for Latino children and youth! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat─Creating Opportunity: Connecting Latino Youth to Brighter, Healthier Futures
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, May 8, 2018
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: County Health Rankings ...
A food desert covers 52% of the Rio Grande Valley on the Texas-Mexico border, according to a recent assessment by the Working on Wellness project at Texas A&M University, the Rio Grande Guardian reports. Food deserts are areas more than 2 miles or 15 minutes away from a grocery store. People in Rio Grande Valley food deserts are predominantly Latino with low income and no transportation, according to the assessment by Working on Wellness. Fortunately, Working on Wellness is taking action to help. “We found out there were still a lot of areas that could be improved in terms of access whether that be walking trails, sidewalks, or healthy food retail-like groceries,” Evelia Castillo, Working on Wellness coordinator, told the Rio Grande Guardian. "So we’ve been working ...
Complete Streets were nearing a dead end in Phoenix. But after 42 meetings and three years of inaction, members of the city's Complete Streets Advisory Board started a citizens' petition to finally spur city leaders to vote on new Complete Streets guidelines. The vote is set for May 2018. Phoenix's Complete Street guidelines—to design streets for all users, walkers, bikers, commuters, drivers—were originally set for 2015. In fact, the Complete Streets Advisory Board was established in 2014 to create Complete Streets design guidelines for adoption by City Council within one year. However, a lengthy review process obstructed adoption, and the city continued to build streets for cars rather than for people. Advisory board members, fed up as people continued to be killed on ...
Is it hard to find healthy food in your town? Or places to play? Or health care? What does local health look like, compared to other areas? The new Salud America! Salud Report Card has these answers and much more. You can select your county and automatically generate customized data on local obesity, food access, physical activity, and health equity issues compared to the state and nation, and comparing Latinos to non-Latinos. The Salud Report Card also offers policy solutions, case studies, and share-ability to inspire people and policymakers to start and support healthy changes in their communities. Enter your location for your own free Salud Report Card! "Moms, dads, teachers, local leaders and more can use the Salud Report Card to find out what health issues are ...
Jenny Arredondo knows some San Antonio students leave school and don't eat again until they return to school the next day. Many students live in poverty. Some don't know where their next meal is coming from. Arredondo wanted to help. Arredondo, senior executive director of child nutrition at San Antonio ISD, found a solution in Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal's new state law. Schools now can start "school food pantries" to accept and store donated food and surplus food from the cafeteria, and distribute that leftover food to hungry students. How could she start school food pantries at San Antonio ISD?
Food Insecurity at San Antonio ISD
U.S. Latino children and families often struggle with poverty and live in poverty stricken neighborhoods with abundant fast food but little ...
Exposure to green spaces can boost brain development in school children, according to a new Spanish study with big implications for U.S. Latino children who lack access to parks where they live. The new study, which links long-term exposure to green spaces to enhanced cognitive function in Spanish children, was led by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Researchers used MRIs and computerized tests to note children's working memory and inattentiveness every three months. They discovered children who grew up in homes surrounded by green space showed greater activity in the regions of their brain linked with learning. They also showed better ability to engage with others. Children near green space also showed lower levels of ...
A group of students from Brownsville Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas, worried how Latinos are less likely to report and seek care for mental health issues. The students wanted to help. So, as part of a national competition, the Brownsville students researched mental illness, observed its impact on their campus, surveyed their peers, and crafted their own 10 ideas how schools can meet students’ mental health needs. Now their effort has won them the Big Problems Big Ideas Challenge sponsored by the Taylor Wilson Thompson Family Foundation to address childhood issues. The award gives them $3,000 to continue their efforts in mental health. “As a predominately Hispanic population in times of struggle, we feel like we are one step closer to making an impact ...
An unhealthy diet is the leading risk factor for death, causing more than 500,000 U.S. deaths in 2016, according to a new study. For the study, University of Washington researchers analyzed data on 333 diseases in every state from 1990-2016. They implicated diet in 529,999 deaths from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases in 2016. After diet, tobacco, high blood pressure, and obesity were the next biggest early death risks. These findings have big implications for Latinos, who tend to struggle with local access to healthy food, according to a Salud America! research review. “To an increasing degree, overweight, obesity, and sugary diets are driving up health care costs and are costing Americans years of healthy life,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, ...
Racism can crush a person’s mental health. In fact, racism negatively affects mental health because it causes depression, anxiety, and heightened psychological stress in those who experience it, research shows. How can we help Latinos and other communities of color who experience racism every day? To celebrate Mental Health Month in May, let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, to tweet strategies to reduce racism, help those who experience racism, and boost mental health in communities of color! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Racism and its Alarming Impact on Mental Health
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, May 1, 2018
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: Dr. Silvia L. Mazzula, executive director, Latina ...
