Whether with paint on canvas or a friendly chat in person, San Antonio artist Mary Louise Lopez always spread love and showcased the beauty of the human spirit. Mary Louise was a gifted artist in drawing, painting, sculpting, and batiking. The subjects of many of her paintings are indigenous communities of Texas, Mexico, Central America, and South America, where she often travelled and befriended many locals. Mary Louise, who passed away in November of 2022, portrayed the pride and strength of indigenous Latinos with great affection and care, said Irene Peche, a close family-friend. “She sought to capture their dignity and the work ethic by which they lived. There is an honesty in the depictions of her subjects that captures reality, beauty, and hardship without ...
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for healthcare workers to have easy-to-use, informative, bilingual tools on infection control practices in the healthcare setting. With this in mind, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed to ensure all healthcare workers, no matter their role or educational background, have the infection control knowledge and understanding they need and deserve to protect themselves, patients, and coworkers. As part of Project Firstline, Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) is bringing you a Salud Talks Podcast series, “Behind the Mask,” to explore infection control in healthcare. In this special ...
Latinos have endured generations of systemic inequities due to racism and discrimination. Over the years, institutions, structures, and policies have given rise to gaps in housing, income, education, and more, which lead to higher risk for diseases like cancer. Even though these disparities persist, policymakers are pushing for change. On July 17, 2024, the Biden White House announced several new policies to expand opportunities for Latino communities, including increasing access to higher education. Let’s investigate some of these policies and how they endeavor to help Latinos.
Increasing Educational and Economic Gains Through Hispanic-Serving Institutions
More than 500 Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) that span across 27 states, the District of Columbia, ...
Health literacy is defined by the CDC as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” In today’s world, health literacy is crucial for community members and health professionals, alike, to make everyday decisions and achieve health equity. However, many underserved and racial/ethnic communities around the country face barriers to health equity including access to health care, financial instability, and housing/transportation insecurity endangering their health. That is why Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, and Melanie Stone, DrPH (c), MPH, MEd are helping build Health Confianza – a partnership between UT Health San Antonio, The University of Texas San ...
Latinas account for 17% of all adult women in the U.S. today. Similarly, their population is the largest numeric increase of any major female racial or ethnic group, growing to 5.6 million from 2010 to 2022. A recent report from the Pew Research Center shows that half of Latinas say the situation in relation to education, employment, and earnings of Latina women in the United States is better now than it was 10 years ago, and a similar share say the situation will improve in the next 10 years. “Still, 39% of Latinas say that the situation has stayed the same, and 34% say it will not change in the next 10 years,” according to the report. Let’s dive deeper into the data and what it means for Latinas moving forward.
Latinas and Education Attainment
The report ...
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that ensures children and adults have access to nutritious meals and snacks by providing reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks at participating child care centers, day care homes, and adult day care centers. Additionally, the CACFP provides reimbursements for meals served to children and youth participating in afterschool care programs, children residing in emergency shelters, and adults older than 60 or living with a disability and enrolled in day care facilities. The National CACFP Sponsors Association (NCA) provides support and resources for the community and others that administer, organize, and participate in nutrition programs. The CACFP provides Spanish-language resources through the NCA ...
As COVID-19 exposed cracks in our healthcare system and racial/ethnic health inequities, community health workers rose to the challenge to educate communities on virus prevention, dispel misinformation, and advocate for the vaccine. Community health workers – called promotoras in Latino communities – are non-medical public health workers who connect people to healthcare and social services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is seeking public comments on the use of community health workers to increase “cultural competency in educational campaigns on public health vaccines and prevention, including but not limited to influenza and COVID-19.” Submit this Salud America! model comment to tell HHS about the importance ...
There are a now 600 U.S. colleges and universities designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), a 5% increase over last year’s 572 recognized institutions. HSIs are accredited, degree-granting public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. “The rate that Hispanic-Serving Institutions continue to grow emphasizes their importance to the communities they serve,” said Antonio R. Flores, leader of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), in a press release. Let’s observe the numbers and how this impacts Latino students.
HSIs By the Number
HSIs enroll 5.2 million students and two-thirds of all Latino undergraduates, according to HACU. As ...
CDC’s Project Firstline has developed Infection Control Micro-Learns – a series of guided infection control discussions that can be easily incorporated into team meetings or huddles facilitated by an experienced team member with infection control expertise. Each micro-learn focuses on a single infection control topic and connects these concepts to immediate, practical value. With the help of these micro-learns, healthcare workers can easily apply key points to their daily work and perform the recommended actions to keep germs from spreading. Let’s explore Infection Control Micro-Learn on diarrhea!
What to Do When You See a Patient with Diarrhea
Diarrhea is loose, liquid stool. Some people have chronic diarrhea, it is their normal bowel function. When diarrhea ...
