Hispanic Heritage Month is here! This annual U.S. observance, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We at Salud America! invite you to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in these awesome ways.
1. Learn How Hispanic Heritage Month Started
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 ...
Amid the ongoing racial justice movement in the wake of police brutality and the death of George Floyd and others, a rising number of U.S. local leaders are creating resolutions to declare racism a public health crisis. Update 4/5/22: San Antonio, L.A., New York, and Chicago are among 246 cities, counties, and other governmental leaders that have declared racism a public health crisis, as of April 5, 2022, according to Michigan cartographer Alex B. Hill on Twitter. "It's a little thing to declare racism to be a public health crisis, but it's a stake in the sand," said former American Public Health Association (APHA) President Camara Phyllis Jones, Bloomberg reports.
Where Are Resolutions on Racism as a Public Health Crisis Happening?
Over 200 entities, including 19 states, have ...
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 ...
Latinos are the largest racial/ethnic minority at 18.5% of the U.S. population. Yet they face considerable health inequities — from discrimination to a lack of access to health care, transportation, affordable housing, healthy food, and more. This contributes to a high burden of diabetes, obesity, and disease for Latinos. In response, we need more understanding of the root causes of health inequities, diversity in the health and research fields, better education, and greater societal presence for Latinos, according to a new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, and Drs. Rita Lepe and Francisco Ciagarroa of the Transplant Center at UT Health San Antonio. "The changing ...
Healthcare spending is disproportionately skewed toward white people, with less money spent on Latino patients, according to new research from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and others. “This study found statistically significant differences in estimated healthcare spending across six race/ethnicity groups, with differences present for total spending, age-standardized spending, spending by type of care, and health-condition-specific spending per notified case,” according to the study. The disparity has significant implications for policies needed for equity in healthcare spending. “Despite making up 18.5% of the U.S. population, only 11% of healthcare spending goes toward Latinos. We can address this disparity by examining the ...
Hispanic Heritage Month is a time where we can honor the history, culture, and diversity of the Latino community. Unfortunately, many Latinos in the U.S. still face many health inequities, including limited access to healthcare, poor nutrition and physical activity, low COVID-19 vaccination rates, and more. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, to discuss how we can improve health equity for Latinos while celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: How to Improve Health Equity for Hispanic Heritage Month TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, September 7, 2021
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: Public Health Maps (@PublicHealthMap); Latinx Voces en Salud Campaign (@VocesenSalud); ...
Thanks to the efforts from the student-led community organization Gente Organizada, Pomona Unified School District will no longer allow police patrols to monitor campuses. The decision comes after years of campaigning against discriminatory practices by school police, which was amplified after the racial justice protests of 2020. Removing school police means Latino youth are safer from discrimination in school, as Pomona (71% Latino), a city in Los Angeles County, is home to many Latino and immigrant families. “This is a milestone that has been met,” said Caroline Lucas, a Pomona youth organizer, according to Los Angeles Times. “For me, it means that leaders can experiment with what transformative activists have been trying to do.”
A Campaign Sparked by an Act of ...
Doctors have implicit, subconscious preferences for white patients over those of color, studies show. This is implicit bias. These biases — stereotypes that affect our understanding and decisions about others beyond our conscious control — lead to discrimination and health disparities. Fortunately, implicit bias can be “rewired” for compassion for patients of color. Download the free Salud America! Action Pack “Health Care Workers and Researchers: Find If You Have Implicit Bias and What to Do Next.” "This Action Pack will help you see if you have implicit bias, learn from others who have overcome their own implicit bias, and encourage colleagues to learn about implicit bias, too," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino health equity ...
When Giselle Rincon decided to start a nonprofit to help immigrants and offer humanitarian aid to her home country, she had no idea where to start with her background in teaching. “None of us have a nonprofit background, no clue how to begin a nonprofit, how to manage it. We have been learning every day, how to do it and talking to people, asking for consultants, asking for advice,” Rincon said. In 2014, Rincon started Venezuela’s Voice in Oregon along with a group of Venezuelan immigrants in the Portland, Oregon area. She and her team of eight team members work entirely pro-bono and volunteer their time outside of their full-time jobs. Through connecting with other nonprofit leaders and members in the Latino community, Rincon has taught herself how to run her growing ...
