Police are more likely to stop and search Latinos than white people, even though white people are more likely to possess illegal material, according to data from Texas and California, two states with large Latino populations. “That discrepancy could mean that a lot more innocent Latino people are being subjected to searches than white people are, an invasive and often demeaning process, which can damage trust in police,” according to Houston Public Media. The data comes out a year after the police killing of George Floyd, which reinvigorated Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality and a wave of police reform efforts, like implicit bias trainings. Now reform activists and city officials hope the data can spark more change. “I look forward to our Police ...
Over 530 members of Salud America! endorsed our public comment to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in their Request for Information (RFI) on how to advance racial equity and diversity within the biomedical research workforce, as well as advancing research on health inequities. Other organizations like the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council On Governmental Relations, and Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology also submitted comments. The RFI was open for comment from March 1 to April 23, 2021. At Salud America!, we believe that increasing diversity among research leaders and clinical trial participants will help achieve true health equity, especially for populations disproportionately impacted by health issues and COVID-19, like the ...
How can art help a community? Art and cultural practices can help boost social cohesion and overall community wellbeing, according to a new report, WE-Making: How Arts & Culture Unite People to Work Toward Community Well-Being, which explores this concept. “A cohesive culture for health equity is one where everyone works individually and as a group to ensure that each person has a fair, just opportunity for health and wealth, as well as equitable access to basic resources required for these goals according to a Salud America! research review. The WE-Making report was developed by the National Endowment for Arts and the Kresge Foundation, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Bush Foundation, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The Report on Arts ...
COVID-19 has devastated the Latino community since the start of the pandemic. As researchers gain more insight into the impact of COVID-19 over time, they’re finding Latinos continue to experience harsh impacts. In fact, a recent study from the CDC shows that Latinos and other communities of color experienced higher rates of COVID-19 hospitalization than their white peers. This is not just a symptom of COVID-19, but an issue of systemic injustice that needs dedicated action, according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. "[There is a] critical need and an important opportunity to address health equity as a core element in all of our public health efforts,” Walensky said Monday during a White House Covid-19 briefing. “These disparities were not caused by the pandemic, ...
With over 30 years of working in mental health and disparities research, Margarita Alegría is what you might call an expert in the field. Alegría is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor in Harvard Medical School’s departments of medicine and psychiatry. Last summer, she was named Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair. Alegría has decades worth of experience in studying public health, mental health, substance abuse, and the social determinants of health. She’s conducted countless studies on how to improve the lives of ethnic and racial minority groups and people with disabilities. Now she wants to make her research more accessible to the general public. Alegría ...
Everyone should have a fair and just opportunity for the best possible health and well-being. That’s health equity. And that’s the mission of the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative. The HOPE Initiative is led by the National Collaborative for Health Equity and Texas Health Institute in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Society and Health. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides funding. The HOPE Initiative tracks data on 27 indicators related to social and economic factors, community & safety, physical environment, access to healthcare, and health outcomes. “Our unique analyses use an opportunity framework to set aspirational but achievable goals to improve life outcomes—especially populations of color most affected ...
Art can convey a story or a message. So what if you could use art to spark a conversation about issues in your community? That’s the question that Bobby Marines asked himself when realizing he could use his talent to lead important conversations in the Latino community. To find the answer, Marines launched Voces y Visiones, a web series that features Marines’ art to lead a conversation about hot topic issues within the Latino community, with the help of the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) and Alliance of Chicanos, Hispanics and Latin Americans (ACHLA). “The overall goal is to use arts as catalysts for social and community discourse,” Marines said.
From Eighth Grade Dropout to Successful Visual Artist
It took hitting rock bottom for Marines to find his ...
The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio is launching a new diversity training called Resolving Microaggressions. This training aims to empower faculty members to recognize and speak out against acts of racism and discrimination. “The goal of this training is to turn spectators into active peacemakers in tense situations, where someone is being attacked, even subtly on the basis of their gender, race, age, training or socioeconomic status,” wrote Robert Hromas, dean of the Long School of Medicine, in an email to faculty members. The training is focused on microaggressions. These are typically more subtler forms of racism, within implicit bias, that can be overlooked. “Microaggressions are the extent to which individuals who are ...
Latino parents are hopeful that their children will have more opportunities to succeed in life than they did, but recognize that inequities may limit them, according to a new study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). To create the Raising the Next Generation study, RWJF, together with the research firm PerryUndem, interviewed over 2,000 parents and caregivers (400 of which were Latino) on their perceptions of inequity and discrimination in the U.S. They also asked about optimism about the future and challenges their children might experience. The survey revealed many interesting findings about how Latino parents perceive inequities and how income and immigration affect their perceptions.
Findings from the Raising the Next Generation Study
When it comes to future ...
