Janette Ramirez was looking for a way to help people. In her search, she walked into the Center for Service Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement (SLICE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Ramirez jumped into multiple SLICE programs and helped empower the local community to overcome social injustices and disparities in health, education, and economic opportunities – and she left with a passion for serving others. “That’s how I came to find my love for community service and serving others, because, you know, it’s just really important,” Ramirez said. Today, Ramirez is still seeking to help as many people as she can. As a medical student going into her second year at Midwestern University in Arizona and as a Robert A. Winn Diversity in ...
The pandemic took a toll on many families across the country, especially Latino families. Some Latinos lost jobs while others lost the roofs over their heads, and many lost loved ones to the social, health, and economic impacts of COVID-19. To combat some of these hardships, the US government adopted several policies to assist families struggling financially. One such pandemic-era policy was the automatic renewal of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage making it easier to maintain coverage during a time of economic uncertainty. The policy stretched on for three years until states began the process of screening for eligibility in early 2023. The sudden upheaval of guaranteed medical insurance for low-income families receiving ...
US Latinos and other racial/ethnic minority populations made historic gains in healthcare coverage in the years after the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to five recent research briefs from the US Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). In the research brief focused on Latinos, research showed that the uninsured rate for nonelderly Latinos decreased from 32.7% to 18% from 2010 to 2022. However, the brief also found that Latinos are more than twice as likely as non-Latino Whites to be uninsured. Let’s further explore health insurance coverage among Latinos.
Latinos Facing Health Barriers
For Latinos, health outcomes are affected by factors like lack of health insurance, language and cultural barriers, and lack of access to care. “Studies ...
Heart disease risk is high for U.S. Latinos, data shows. While most Latinos were aware of their cardiovascular risk factors, less than half of the adults in a study of stroke survivors had healthy blood pressure and cholesterol, and only half had healthy blood sugar levels, according to the American Heart Association. “Hispanic adults are more likely than white adults to develop heart failure. But Hispanic adults living with heart failure are less likely to get appropriate care and treatment than white adults living with heart failure,” according to a Close the Gap resource. This emphasizes the importance of targeted prevention programs and culturally relevant resources for Latinos to avoid stroke, heart attack, and other cardiovascular diseases. That’s where Close the ...
Federal regulators recently published a final rule to expand healthcare for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and certain other noncitizens. The rule – which modifies the definition of “lawfully present” – essentially opens enrollment in the healthcare marketplace to those in the DACA program, many of whom are Latinos. The ruling will take effect on Nov. 1, 2024. Salud America! members were among 530 people who submitted a public comment last year to support this expansion of healthcare access to DACA recipients. “This overdue step is a critical victory for equitable access to health care,” according to the National Immigration Law Center. Let’s dive further into what this ruling means and how it will impact Latinos.
What is DACA? ...
Every year, 240,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That’s why healthcare providers recommend women ages 50 to 74 get a mammogram – an X-ray of the breast that can help screen and diagnose cancer – every two years. However, only about 3 in 4 women in that age group has had a mammogram in the past two years, as of 2022, according to a new study by the CDC. For women who experience health-related social needs, even fewer haven’t gotten one. This is alarming because, while mammograms can reduce the number of breast cancer deaths by 22%, this cancer is the top cause of death among Latinas. Let’s explore the social determinants of health (SDoH) that are creating barriers to ...
Nearly one of every two people are Latino in Harris County, Texas, which is home to Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. As the Latino community rises, equitable health, education, and opportunity is critical. That is why two Houston organizations, Children at Risk and Child Health Policy at the Baker Institute, published the 2024 Latino Child Health Initiative Report to examine the state of Latino child health in Precinct 2, one of four precincts in Harris County. The report identified high rates of type 2 diabetes and obesity among Latino children in Houston, as well as barriers to mental health services and kindergarten readiness. Let’s dive into the report and how it reflects the overall US Latino population.
Latino Children and Risk for Diabetes, Obesity
In ...
Dr. Rebecca Jones of UT Health San Antonio has been approved for a 2-year, $250,000 funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards (Engagement Awards) program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The funds will support the creation of the Creando Conexiones: Cancer Health Equity Research Agenda, which will outline research priorities identified by South Texas cancer survivors, caregivers, and community members. Join the Creando Conexiones coalition! "We know that research has the most impact when guided by voices of cancer survivors and community members," said Jones, assistant director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research and part of the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio. "With their input, we ...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced its request for $7.2 billion as part of President Joe Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2025 proposed budget. FDA’s request, which is about 7% higher than last year, covers the agency’s top health priorities. “This funding will allow the agency to enhance food safety and nutrition, advance medical product safety, help support supply chain resiliency, strengthen the agency’s public-health and mission-support capacity, and modernize the FDA’s infrastructure and facilities,” according to an FDA News Release. Let’s dive into what these requests entail and how it can impact Latinos.
Enhancing Food Safety and Nutrition
FDA is requesting $15 million to protect and promote a safe, nutritious U.S. food supply through the ...
