A coalition formed by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) resulted in a 40% increases in colorectal screening rates over four years. The program is now being looked at as a possible pilot for other communities to boost their cancer screening rates. A report headed by Dr. Steven Itzkowitz, a professor of medicine/oncological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), now provides a framework for how communities might learn from a program to increase screening rates and ensure access for all people. “The increased screening rates from 2003 to 2012 translates to an additional 833,000 New Yorkers who have undergone screening colonoscopy and represents an important public health intervention,” said Dr. Itzkowitz. “By making ...
Bishop Jose Torres, a father of three girls who plays volleyball in his spare time, was concerned about the lack of health awareness among his congregation in Severn, a suburb of Annapolis, MD. He wanted to do something about it. So with a few dedicated partners, he created a Health Festival for his community. For over five years, the Health Festival has provided much-needed health information and services to hundreds in the community and has even saved a few lives.
Concern Over a Community's Health
Located in Severn, a suburb of the city of Annapolis, MD (16.8% Latino), the Heritage Community Church has a sizeable Latino population. Bishop Jose Torres and the rest of the Church leadership were concerned about the health and health literacy of their congregation ...
A vaccine can't prevent disease unless people use it. In Texas, a largely Latino state, only 39% of girls and 15% of boys ages 13-17 complete the three-dose HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer and other problems. Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina has a plan to change that. Parra-Medina, a health researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, received a new $1.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop an professional education and community outreach program to increase awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccine among children in South Texas. She and her team will train local health care providers to deliver accurate HPV vaccine ...
Diabetes is one of the major illnesses that impacts all people, including Latinos. Yet it is also one of the more preventable and treatable illnesses. Do you know how important a healthy diet and exercise are to preventing or controlling diabetes? What's the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes? How often should you check your glucose levels? Let’s use #SaludTues on Nov. 17, 2015, to tweet about all the need-to-know facts about diabetes. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Diabetes”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: USA.gov (@USAgov); Diabetes Hands Foundation (@diabetesHF); U.S. FDA (@FDAenEspanol) Together with our partners, we’ll discuss: Key ...
La retinopatía diabética es una de los tipos de enfermedad más comunes que afecta los ojos de diabéticos. Actualmente esta condición afecta a más de 7 millones de personas en EE.UU y se pronostica que para el 2013 afectara a más de 30 millones, según el instituto nacional de los ojos (NEI). Los latinos, nativos americanos y afroamericanos están a mayor riesgo. “Lamentablemente, solo la mitad de las personas con diabetes se hace un examen completo de los ojos con dilatación de las pupilas.” según lo ha expuesto el experto del Instituto Nacional del Ojo, el Dr. Eduardo Alfonso. “Este examen es clave para detectar la enfermedad diabética del ojo en sus primeras etapas, cuando se puede tratar efectivamente.” Las enfermedades de diabetes en el ojo incluyen ...
Diabetic retinopathy, the most common type of diabetic eye disease, affects more than 7 million Americans and that number is expected to rise to 11 million by 2030, according to the National Eye Institute (NEI). Some people are at higher risk. “Only about half of all people with diabetes get an annual comprehensive dilated eye exam, which is essential for detecting diabetic eye disease early, when it is most treatable,” Dr. Paul Sieving, director of the NEI said in a press release. Diabetic eye disease is a group of conditions including cataract, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy and everyone with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is at risk. What can you do if you have diabetes? Take your medications as prescribed by your doctor
Reach and maintain a healthy weight
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Sarah Cantril started the Huerto de la Familia program to focus on boosting health by helping local families live healthier lives in Eugene, Ore. In trying a new approach to bring health information to families, Julia Ridgeway-Diaz and other officials with Huerto de la Familia decided to start an annual health fair, called Dia de Salud (Health Day). This free, tailored annual health fair brings families together to receive free eye exams, blood tests, and other health services that would normally be unavailable to their community.
What Role Do People Play in Their Health?
Huerto de la Familia has been assisting families in Eugene, Ore. (7.8% Latino), since 1999, when Sarah Cantril formed the organization from a grassroots project, to a fully developed non-profit. But Julia ...
Getting a breast cancer diagnosis could be a shocking experience, especially when your doctor confirms your fears and tells you, you have breast cancer. “ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You have breast cancer. We need to set up an appointment with a surgeon as soon as possible.” I asked the doctor to proceed with whatever arrangements would be necessary. I called my husband at work. I could tell by his voice he was in shock. That evening we informed our four children,” Gloria Diaz says. The day after, Gloria, accompanied by her daughter visited her doctor and was given two options: a mastectomy or lumpectomy. “I was scared and confused. A mastectomy meant I would have my entire right breast removed along with a large number of lymph nodes, and if everything ...
Smoking is a tough opponent to beat. Quitxt is a new free service that turns your mobile phone into a personal coach to help you quit smoking, using interactive and entertaining text messages, online support, hip-hop music, and videos designed for South Texas young adults by researchers at UT Health San Antonio. The service’s text messages help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, finding things to do instead of smoking, handling stress, using nicotine replacement if needed, and more. To join Quitxt in English, text “iquit” to 844-332-2058. For Spanish, text “lodejo” to 844-332-2058. “Text-message applications have scientifically proven to roughly double one’s odds of quitting smoking, so we developed Quitxt specifically for young adults to ...
