Latinos now make up 19.5% of the US population. Counties in California, Florida, and Texas are home to some of the largest Latino communities in the nation. However, a recent Axios analysis found that poverty rates are also higher within many of these areas. US Census Bureau 2022 5-year estimates show that 10 of the largest Latino communities have a poverty rate that’s 50% higher than the national average (12.5%). Let’s break down the numbers and how they relate to the health equity of Latinos.
Analysis Findings on Poverty
Axios conducted an analysis of 10 census-designated places that had at least 100,000 residents with a high percentage of Latinos. Based on the collective data, the outlet determined that the average rate of poverty for Latinos in these ...
ChangeLab Solutions recently updated their interactive web tool, Undoing the Drivers of Health Inequity, with new resources to support policy strategies to advance health and justice. The tool points to five fundamental drivers of health inequity. “The fundamental drivers of health inequity are systemic factors that shape people’s physical and social surroundings in ways that create barriers to health,” according to ChangeLabs Solutions. “[We] use legal and policy strategies to undo the drivers of inequity by changing the distribution of resources and power.” Let’s explore this tool and how it can help Latino communities!
1. Structural Discrimination
Some people, especially Latinos and other people of color, face health barriers because of structural and systemic ...
At her annual wellness visit, Dr. Stormee Williams filled out a digital questionnaire that asked about her need for help with housing, transportation, food access, and other non-medical needs. Williams was taking an “SDoH Screener.” An SDoH screener is a questionnaire to help healthcare workers identify a patient’s issues with the social determinants of health (SDoH), the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of social, economic, and political systems that shape life. If a screener finds a patient in need, healthcare workers can then connect the patient to community support and resources. Helping patients address these non-medical needs can help them achieve better health. Williams, fortunately, didn’t have non-medical ...
Where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of non-medical factors, such as the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are known as social determinants of health (SDoH). Addressing SDoH is key to improving health for Latinos and all people, said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, in a panel presentation on Dec. 5, 2023, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. "What we’re finding is that these inequities in SDoH can create social needs that negatively impact our health," Ramirez said.
Screening for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)
Studies suggest that SDoH accounts for between 30-55% of health outcomes. SDoH also influences individual ...
Where in San Antonio can you find a list of health clinics? Mental health resources? Health coverage resources? Organizations with community health workers? Fortunately, the local Health Confianza health literacy team led by UT Health San Antonio has the answers (and more) on its new bilingual resource website, WellnessCultura.org and WellnessCultura.org/esp. Let's explore the need for health literacy and how the new website will help improve preventive care!
What Is Health Literacy?
Health literacy is "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions," according to the CDC. In today’s world, health literacy is crucial for community members and health ...
The total economic output, or gross domestic product (GDP), for Latinos in the United States has grown from $1.7 trillion in 2010 to $3.2 trillion in 2021, according to the Latino Donor Collaborative’s 2023 U.S. Latino GDP Report. Let’s dive deeper into why and how Latinos are driving the U.S. economy.
The Latino GDP
The U.S. Latino GDP is $3.2 trillion. That makes it the is the fifth-largest economy in the world embedded inside the United States, according to 2023 U.S. Latino GPD Report. “U.S. Latinos are not a niche market, nor small, nor as sometimes described as a market of the future,” according to the report. “It is already the third fastest growing economy on the planet, and may soon rival China’s growth rates.”
Growth of the Latino ...
Latinas make, on average, 52 cents for every $1 that white, non-Hispanic men make. This historic pay gap has worsened over time and contributes to poor health, especially in Latinas with expensive, chronic conditions, such as breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most expensive cancers to treat. It also happens to be the most diagnosed cancer and leading cause of cancer death among Latinas. In honor of Latina Equal Pay Day (Oct. 5, 2023) and Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), we’re highlighting how Latina equal pay negatively impacts Latina breast cancer health outcomes and survivorship.
Why Does the Latina Wage Gap Exist?
Women in general earn 82% of what men earn. The reasons for this wage gap are multifaceted, according to Pew Research. Half of US ...
We have updated our Salud America! Health Equity Report Card to cover your county’s child opportunity score, environmental justice score, location affordability, and transit access. The Health Equity Report Card, first launched in 2017, auto-generates Latino-focused and local data with interactive maps and comparative gauges, which can help you visualize and explore local inequities in housing, transit, poverty, health care, food, education, and more. You will see how your county stacks up in these health equity issues — now including child opportunity, location affordability, and transit access — compared to your state and the nation. Then you can share the Report Card with your local leaders to shift from individualist thinking to advocating for systemic community change ...
For this year’s Healthy Vision Month, the National Eye Institute (NEI) is highlighting the theme of “Healthy Vision: A Family Focus” (“Visión saludable: ojos sanos para su familia”). To ensure that everyone gets important eye health information, the NEI is sharing its helpful resources in Spanish – made through transcreation. Transcreation is the process of taking a concept in one language and completely recreating it in another language, adjusting the literal translation to align with the cultural context of the intended audience. “A successfully transcreated message (either written or visual) evokes the same emotions and carries the same implications in the target language as it does in the source language, but in a way that resonates with the target ...
