Check out the latest on health disparities stories, news and funding in the Winter 2009 E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. The newsletter features: The story behind SaludToday
Using texting to promote fitness among Latina girls
A new "hub" for Latino cancer health disparities research
A new guide to help Latinos quit smoking
Research funding opportunties
Health disparities events
Health disparities resources For this and much more, check out our new ...
The National Urban League on Dec. 7, 2009, announced its support the recommendations of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America. "The members of the Commission should be applauded for helping to expand the discussion surrounding how we reform the country’s health system. The Commission released 10 recommendations for dramatic improvements in the health of all Americans, particularly those who face the greatest barriers to good health. "The recommendations are a welcome addition to the country’s health reform debate, and we look forward to working with the members of the Commission, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, policymakers and other stakeholders to make these proposals a reality." Recommendations from the Robert Wood Johnson ...
Rates of new diagnoses and rates of death from all cancers combined declined significantly in the most recent time period for men and women overall and for most racial and ethnic populations in the U.S., according to a report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The drops are driven by declines in rates of new cases and rates of death for the three leading in men (lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers) and for two of the three leading cancers in women (breast and colorectal cancer). The NCI findings were published online Dec. 7, 2009, in the journal Cancer. Among racial/ethnic groups, cancer death rates were highest in black men and women and lowest in Asian/Pacific Islander men and women. Although trends in death rates by race/ ethnicity were similar for most cancer sites, ...
Too many children in Texas do not know where their next meal is coming from, and, when food is available, it is too often junk food with little or no nutritional value. So Texans Care for Children has released a new report, “Nourishing Texas Children: Preventing the Twin Challenges of Childhood Hunger and Obesity,” which recommends five strategies to improve access to nutritious food and opportunities for physical activity. The recommendations are: 1. Increase the availability of healthy, affordable food in “food deserts.”
2. Improve nutrition and physical activity in schools and child care environments.
3. Promote breastfeeding.
4. Increase participation in and infrastructure to deliver existing nutrition programs.
5. Establish stronger linkages between farmers and ...
Several restaurants in Monterey County, Calif., have added healhier items like yogurt with fruit, oatmeal and trans-fat meals to their traditional taqueria fare, according to the Salinas Californian. The restaurants took part in an initiative to teach taqueria owners about healthier foods. About 14 of the 16 owners who participated began to offer healthier side dishes, and seven added entrees with fewer calories and fat, but with more fruits and vegetables. For years, county officials have educated owners of taquerias, staples of Latino communities, about nutrition and helped them add healthier food options to their menus. One of the owners, Gloria Del Real (pictured), now cooks with olive oil rather than soybean oil. The program was featured in a recent issue of ...
Latino men who are more adapted to U.S. culture are more likely to quit smoking than their less-acculturated counterparts, according to research by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center released Dec. 3, 2009, from the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. The study of 271 Latino smokers who called a Spanish-language smoking cessation quitline examined the influence of gender and indicators of acculturation on the ability to quit smoking. Men who had been in the U.S. for up to five years had about 20 percent smoking abstinence rate at three months after the quitline program. But more than 35 percent of men who had been in the U.S. for 23-76 years abstained. Those who preferred to view news and entertainment mainly or exclusively in English ...
Latinos are less likely to die from cancer than other groups, but have higher rates of cancers related to infections (stomach, liver and cervix) and are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease, according to Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics 2009-2011, a new American Cancer Society report. For many cancer types, Hispanics are far more likely than whites to be diagnosed in advanced stages of disease, when the cancer is likely to be less treatable. The report highlights the need for programs that target Hispanics, from addressing disparities in income, education, and access to health care to better understanding cultural values and ...
A funny thing happened when Rosa, Latino mother of four in Chicago, parted ways with a beloved family member — the living room sofa, where she had let "life pass" her by so many times. She got off the couch and got healthy. Three years ago, she forced herself to leave the couch and attend a local nutrition class. That act literally changed her life. Rosa’s nutrition teacher helped put together a healthy eating plan for her and her kids. Early on, even Rosa resisted eating some healthy foods and thought her children felt the same way. But she knew no one in her home would ever eat the new foods on her food plan if she didn’t try them first. She knew she had to lead by example. Rosa eventually lost 60 pounds, and her children got a lot healthier, too. Read more stories ...
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity has released a fact sheet on Southern obesity that shows disproportionately higher rates of childhood obesity here compared to the rest of the U.S. The eight states with the highest percentages of overweight or obese children are all in the South. In every Southern state except Oklahoma, at least 30 percent of children are overweight or obese (see map). Income, race and ethnicity and education are part of the problem. At each level of income, African American and Latino children were in worse health than whites. And white boys born in 2000 have a 27 percent risk of being diagnosed with diabetes during their lifetimes, while African American and Latino boys have a 40 and 45 percent lifetime risk, ...
