The Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio — home to the Salud America! program in the Institute for Health Promotion Research — is seeking two applicants for open-rank faculty positions in community behavioral health and biostatistics. The two positions will also serve in the Population Science and Prevention research program at the Mays Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center at UT Health San Antonio. Go here to apply or learn more about the community behavioral health position. Go here to apply or learn more about the biostatistician position. "Our goal is to recruit two faculty members who will establish meaningful community-based and community-engaged research in our diverse and medically underserved 38-county ...
Over 60 members of Salud America! endorsed our public comment to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in their request for feedback on as part of its draft Strategic Plan for 2022-2026. The draft was open for comment from Oct. 7 to Nov. 7, 2021. At Salud America!, we believe that improving healthcare by making it more accessible and culturally tailored for Latinos and other people of color will help build health equity. We believe this is possible through increasing diversity among research leaders and clinical trial participants, eliminating implicit bias in the doctor’s office, and hiring healthcare workers who can provide culturally relevant patient care. That’s why we submitted a comment from our leader, Dr. Amelie Ramirez.
Dr. Amelie Ramirez’s Comment ...
Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, disproportionately impacts Latinos. In fact, U.S. Latino men and women are twice as likely as their White peers to develop invasive gastric cancer, according to a 2021 report. But little is known about regional differences. That is why Dr. Dorothy Long Parma of UT Health San Antonio and her colleagues conducted a study to analyze gastric cancer rates for Latinos in South Texas, Texas, and the United States. "We found that overall stomach cancer incidence rates in Texas and South Texas were higher in Latinos than in non-Latino Whites, despite lower frequencies in the state and South Texas region compared to the United States," said Long Parma, assistant professor/research at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) in the ...
The patient economic burden for cancer in the U.S. was $21.09 billion, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “[This total is] made up of patient out-of-pocket costs of $16.22 billion and patient time costs of $4.87 billion,” according to the annual report. As technology, cancer research, and medicine advances, the effectiveness of therapy treatments only seem to proliferate. Though this is good news, the reality is that modern cancer treatments are a financial burden to people of color, who also face barriers to equitable cancer care. Latinos in particular face obstacles such as poor health literacy, concerns about test efficacy, and language and cultural beliefs related to cancer, ...
In the U.S., Latinos are uninsured nearly three times more than their white peers. Given that Latinos are projected to grow to 25% of the population by 2045, this lack of healthcare coverage will continue to endanger the health of many more individuals, families, and the healthcare system. A recent federal report shows just how large this problem is and why it is critical that civic and business leaders address it. “Latinos have consistently been overrepresented in the uninsured population,” states the report from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). “Prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Latinos had the second-highest nonelderly uninsurance rate among ethnic and racial populations with more than 30% uninsured. “Studies ...
UT Health San Antonio is known for doing everything it takes. Everything it takes to treat COVID-19 patients, to change our teaching methods on a dime, to pass health provider exams on the first try, to partner in our community, and to find new cures for dreaded diseases. Our team at Salud America!, which is led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio, is excited to share the university's new “Everything It Takes” campaign. Ramirez is featured in the campaign. Visit EverythingItTakes.org. The campaign will have TV, radio, print, and digital ads. This includes Spanish-language materials, like this radio spot and this one. "We want all of San Antonio and South Texas to know that we’ll do 'Everything It Takes' to serve the health needs of patients in our region ...
Growing up as a gay, Latino man in the 1990s, Dr. Philip Ponce saw the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS. It pushed him to a medical career. “A lot of people in my community were dying of AIDS. I knew I wanted to work with other gay men, and I knew I wanted to take care of people with HIV,” Dr. Ponce said. Dr. Ponce is the Medical Director at Kind Clinic San Antonio, a clinic that provides sexual health services such as HIV testing and treatment, STI testing and treatment, access to HIV prevention medication known as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) and gender-affirming care. He’s also an assistant professor of infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio and director of transplant infectious diseases at the University Transplant ...
As part of its draft Strategic Plan for 2022-2026, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking for feedback from the public. The plan has five strategic goals for how the department will achieve its mission: Protect and Strengthen Equitable Access to High Quality and Affordable Health Care
Safeguard and Improve National and Global Health Conditions and Outcomes
Strengthen Social Well-being, Equity, and Economic Resilience
Restore Trust and Accelerate Advancements in Science and Research for All
Advance Strategic Management to Build Trust, Transparency, and Accountability At Salud America!, we believe that improving healthcare by making it more accessible and culturally tailored for people of color will help build health equity. This means ...
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 ...
