Researchers at UT Health San Antonio are launching a five-year, $15.5-million study to investigate why the region’s older Mexican Americans experience a high rate of dementia. The project, the San Antonio Mind and Heart Study, is led by UT Health San Antonio’s Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases with funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. Let’s dive deeper Latinos, dementia, and the goals of this study.
A Continuation of Important Data
The new dementia study is an is an extension of the San Antonio Heart Study, conducted at UT Health San Antonio between 1979 and 2006 led Dr. Helen P. Hazuda. Researchers, led by Dr. Claudia L. Satizabal, associate professor of population health ...
Latinas suffer a high burden of cervical cancer, which is often caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). In fact, Latinas have the second-highest rate of dying from cervical cancer, according to the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Cervical cancer screening – commonly referred to as a Pap smear – can help reduce this disease burden. However, Latinas and other women from overlooked communities face numerous challenges to cervical cancer screening, such as lack of health insurance and fear of cervical exams, which can be uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing. Enter University of North Carolina researchers Jennifer S. Smith and Noel T. Brewer. The duo are part of the research team behind the My Body, My Test 3 clinical trial, which explored the ...
Latinos face inequities in non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH), from housing to healthcare, making it harder to achieve health fairness. Watch the UT Health San Antonio webinar — “How to Address Non-Medical Drivers of Health in Our Clinics and Systems” — which was held at 11 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, to explore how healthcare settings can care for patients' medical and NMDoH needs. Panelists from UT Health San Antonio, Nemours Children's Health, HOPE Clinic in Houston, the American Cancer Society, and Genentech unpacked NMDoH screening, a strategy that clinics, hospitals, and healthcare systems can use to check patients for social needs and connect them to needed resources. This is a part of a webinar of a series, “Let’s Improve Health in South Texas ...
About half of Latinos who enroll in a four-year college do not end up graduating, according to a new analysis from ¡Excelencia in Education! Latinos’ college graduation rate (52%) also is lower than their White peers (65%). How can we increase Latino college graduation rates? Let’s dive into to the numbers and explore how to close the Latino education gap, and better support Latino students.
Latino College Graduation by the Numbers
28% of Latino adults (age 25 and older) currently have an associate degree or higher, compared to 48% of White adults. To better understand that gap, the new analysis from ¡Excelencia in Education! highlights 4 measures that track degree completion: 1. Graduation Rate: Total percentage of students who graduated within ...
CDC's Project Firstline knows that healthcare workers are short on time, but this shouldn’t limit access to practical and valuable infection control training. That’s why CDC's Project Firstline developed Infection Control Micro-Learns – a series of guided infection control discussions that can be easily incorporated into team meetings or huddles facilitated by an experienced team member with infection control expertise. These short and easy-to-understand learning opportunities can help healthcare workers recognize and minimize infection control risks to protect themselves, coworkers, and patients from infectious diseases. Let’s explore the Infection Control Micro-Learn on rashes!
What to Do When You See a Patient with a Rash
A rash is abnormal skin that is usually red, ...
The Susan G. Komen Foundation is working to discover cures for breast cancer faster with ShareForCures. ShareForCures is a breast cancer research registry that connects researchers with information from people who have or had breast cancer. “The goal of ShareForCures is to focus on research that will have the most significant impact for people affected by breast cancer,” according to the registry website. Here’s how you or someone you know can participate in ShareForCures!
Join ShareForCures
Individuals interested in participating in the registry can start by creating a free MyKomen + Health account and complete the ShareForCures registration. Participants are asked to complete informed consent and medical release forms. “Information that could ...
Thomas Brittain and his immediate family gathered in the neurologist’s office, eager to hear the health status of their beloved family member, 67-year-old Sarah Cadena. “Your mother has a cognitive impairment,” the neurologist said. “We recommend that she transition to living with family for her own safety.” Without a second thought, the Brittain family began planning how to care for Sarah Cadena. That was 13 years ago. Since then, Sarah Cadena has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a disease that can lead to progressive memory loss and ability to perform daily activities. Thomas, Sarah Cadena’s son, a retired San Antonio police officer, is now her primary caretaker. Sarah Cadena lives with Thomas and his family, and as far as caretaking goes, Thomas said he and ...
As Latino individuals become more acculturated to the English language and U.S. way of life, their cigarette use tends to rise, according to a study on cigarette consumption behaviors among the Latino community. The NIMHD-supported research found that this trend occurs particularly among Latino men, and that cigarette consumption also varies based on educational attainment. Let’s dive into what the numbers look like for Latino smokers and what these study results mean for smoking prevention in this population.
Latinos and Language Acculturation
Acculturation is defined as “the process of two [backgrounds] blending, generally seen when an immigrant or [other background] acclimates with the dominant [background].” For Latinos, language acculturation ...
Over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. Of those caregivers, about 25% are Latino. Many Latinos are “sandwich generation” caregivers — meaning that they care for an aging parent and at least one child. While caring for aging family members can be rewarding and feel like the right thing to do, caregiving is a full-time job that can be physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. That’s why we’re highlighting 15 resources to help San Antonio and South Texas Alzheimer’s caregivers navigate caregiving challenges. Check out the list below, and feel free to share these resources with other caregivers.
Caring for the Caregiver at UT Health San Antonio
If you live in or near San Antonio, the Caring for the ...
