At Salud America!, we're excited to discuss Latino health during Hispanic Heritage Month! This annual U.S. observance, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
How Did Hispanic Heritage Month Start?
U.S. Congressmen Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and Henry B. Gonzales were among those who introduced legislation on the topic in 1968. President Lyndon Johnson implemented the observance as Hispanic Heritage Week that year. U.S. Rep. Esteban E. Torres of Pico Rivera proposed the observance be expanded to cover its current 30-day period. President Ronald Reagan implemented the expansion to Hispanic Heritage Month. It was enacted ...
Family is a critical aspect in the lives of many Latinos. Moreover, research has shown that members of Latino families can heavily influence each other when it comes to physical, mental health and a wide range of political views. This includes the way this population views climate change, according to a recent report from Cornell University. “Feeling a sense of connection and commitment to your family, and believing that family considerations should guide our everyday decisions, may shape consensus views within a family, including for a societal problem like climate change,” Adam Pearson, an associate professor of psychological science at Pomona College, told the Cornell Chronicle. “And this may have implications for the sharing of climate beliefs and concerns within Latino ...
Where we live and the conditions that we live in impact our health and life outcomes. This concept is widely called the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Unfortunately, when people live in and experience negative conditions, it can lead to poor health outcomes and disparities, particularly among Latinos and other marginalized communities. In their new SDOH framework, the Praxis Project highlights the root systems of oppression that have led to health disparities for communities of color. “Many traditional SDOH frameworks lack the explicit naming of systems of oppression that cause disparities in health determinants. In an effort to incorporate these systems of oppression and to highlight the root causes of these determinants from a justice and community power ...
The COVID-19 vaccination gap continues among Latinos. In fact, most people who have received at least one dose of the vaccine were White (58%), while only 17% were Latino. State-level data show that Latinos are vaccinated at a much lower rate, even as they face heavier case and death burdens from the disease. This makes it critical to find innovative ways to reach Latinos to get vaccinated. “One of the main reasons for inequities in vaccination rates by race and ethnicity is the significant misinformation about vaccines and lack of health education,” writes Dr. Jay Bhatt, an internal medicine physician and an instructor at the University of Illinois School of Public Health, in a recent op-ed. “Through targeted outreach, one-on-one conversations and concerted efforts ...
Latinos and other people of color are increasingly the targets of criminals who use the internet, phone, and text scams to steal money and damage wellbeing. In fact, 40% of Black and Latino adults have been targeted by online scams and fraud, according to a new survey by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). “Latino adults are most targeted by government impostor scams, utility scams and grandparent scams. For both utility and grandparent scams, Latino adults far outrank other racial groups,” according to Matthew Petrie of the independent market research group BVA BDRC of AARP.
Latinos and A Struggle with Scammers
Sadly, scammers are common in the United States. The rise of financial fraud in the form of scams is “undeniable,” writes Petrie of ...
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in Latinas. Systemic health inequities contribute to lower rates of breast cancer screening among Latinos, which leads to cancer diagnoses at later disease stages. This is why we're sharing Susan G. Komen’s 2021 ongoing webinar series on metastatic breast cancer (MBC)! The next two webinars, "MBC in the Hispanic/Latino Community," are set for 6 p.m. CT Sept. 23, 2021, in English and 6 p.m. CT Sept. 30, 2021, in Spanish. Panelists are: Dr. Filipa Lynce, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Director, Inflammatory Breast Center, Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Jose Pablo Leone, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Director, Program for Breast Cancer in Men, Harvard Medical School Panelists will foster a safe, collaborative space to discuss ...
As a result of COVID-19 and systemic injustice, Latinos are not faring well in the job market. Worse, Latinos are experiencing the widest gap in one of the nation’s fastest-growing fields — a career in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The depth of the gap could consign Latinos to lower-paying jobs, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. “Black and Latino workers remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce compared with their share of all workers, including in computing jobs, which have seen considerable growth in recent years,” the Pew researchers state.
What Is the Latino Gap in STEM Jobs?
Latinos make up 17% of the overall workforce in the U.S. However, they only make up 8% of those employed in STEM fields. STEM jobs are ...
In the next 20 years, Latinos could face a 142% rise in cancer rates. Latinos also experience cancer differently—from genetics to healthcare access to survivorship. This is why Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, is hosting the Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos 2022 conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022 in San Antonio! "Our vision is to unite researchers, physicians, healthcare professionals, patient advocates and students from across the nation to discuss research advancements, identify gaps, and create action to translate basic research into clinical best practices, effective community interventions, and professional training programs to eliminate cancer disparities in Latinos," said Ramirez, whose Institute for Health Promotion Research ...
Older Latinos who live in neighborhoods where little English is spoken are at a higher risk of poor health and early death, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. “If you are linguistically isolated, you’re very likely to be isolated socially, and we know social isolation contributes to mortality,” said Kerstin Emerson, a co-author of the study. The study has implications for how language barriers and social cohesion in a community can affect health, particularly among elderly Latinos.
What Does the Study Say about Language Isolation?
Researchers at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health conducted the study to determine if neighborhoods that are linguistically isolated impact health. The study analyzed data from a survey of over 1,100 ...
