Eliminating health disparities, or differences in disease burden between population groups, could save the U.S. $1 trillion a year, said David Williams of the Commission to Build a Healthier America (pictured). He spoke at the American Public Health Association (APHA) meeting this week, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports. Williams also said that a person's life expectancy can vary up to 14 years depending on where they live. For example: Bennett County, South Dakota, has a life expectancy of 66.6 years.
Anderson County, Texas, is 72 years.
Montgomery County, Maryland, and Park County, Colorado, are 81.3 years. The differences are a reflection that the economic, social and physical environments around us are shaped by underlying differences in ...
The Safe Routes to School State Network Project has produced a final report to highlight progress achieved in implementing policies for safer routes to schools, leveraging additional resources and building a supportive environment for Safe Routes to School through other state-level policies. The project included California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Major project accomplishments included: Improving state DOT Safe Routes to School programs;
Leveraging millions of additional dollars to address traffic safety, education, public health and infrastructure;
Spreading the word about the process of establishing a network and their accomplishments; and
Securing policy changes in school siting, ...
Hispanics are more likely than whites or blacks to report an increase in stress levels over the last year, according to a new national survey released in November 2009 by the American Psychological Association (APA). More Hispanics report that their stress has increased in the past year than in 2008 (50% in 2009 vs. 44% in 2008). And, Hispanics are more likely to report that their stress has increased than adults on average (50% vs. 42%). Hispanics also more commonly report experiencing these symptoms of stress than other adults: 53% of Hispanic adults (vs. 47% overall) report that they have lain awake at night
49% of Hispanic adults (vs. 43% overall) report fatigue
45% of Hispanic adults (vs. 40% overall) report lack of interest, motivation, or energy
44% of Hispanic ...
The American Public Health Association's 137th Annual Meeting, which has a theme of "Water and Public Health," started this weekend and continues until Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in Philadelphia. SaludToday will be represented at the meeting by two of its researchers, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, who will be presenting on Latino childhood obesity, and Sandra San Miguel, who will be presenting on Latino breast cancer. Dr. Ramirez directs the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and San Miguel is an IHPR research instructor. For a blog about the meeting, click ...
Rafael Chavez, a master sergeant at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, was destined to be a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Mission, Texas, where Coach Tom Landry was born a legend. He even spent $75 on a Landry football card from the 1960s. Unlike his clean-cut hero Landry, though, Chavez had a blemish – he was a smoker. He started smoking at age 15. He was a regular smoker by 18. Now years later, Chavez decided to start over and quit smoking for good. He’s been smokeless for six months – and he says he feels like he has scored a Super Bowl touchdown. “[It’s like] scoring in the Super Bowl; you’re not doing it for the fans. You’re not doing it for anyone. You’re doing it for yourself because the reason you smoke is for yourself. You have to do it for yourself ...
Joan Treviño Lawhon of San Antonio had a choice: let breast cancer take over, or fight to survive. "Within an hour of my diagnosis, I was at Barnes & Noble buying layman's books on breast cancer. We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make sure my choice was an informed one." She highlighted passages in her books and wrote down questions to ask her doctors. She leaned on her faith and her family when she had to have surgery. Now she is a survivor. "Now if people see me in a low-cut gown, I love hearing them say, 'You don't look like you had cancer,' because they are right. I had cancer. And I thank God for those beautiful ...
Many cancer survivors are denied new health coverage or have their coverage revoked at critical times. So the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) is seeking signatures on an online petition that urges Congress to support health care reform that does not deny health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions and ensures that no American should lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment. To sign the online petition, go to LIVESTRONG. Watch the video below to see LIVESTRONG President and CEO Doug Ulman report after delivering 65,000 of the petition signatures thus far to ...
Watch Dr. Marcia Cruz-Correa, of the University of Puerto Rico Comprehensive Cancer Center, tell about her cancer research and how cancer screening helps people, especially minorities. Find out more about Dr. Cruz-Correa at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer ...
“Daddy, you smell ugly. You smell like smoke.” These words, spoken by his daughter, helped Vicente Escobedo quit smoking.
Vicente, a 21-year-old, hardworking San Antonio native and father of two daughters, is a resource specialist for the San Antonio Fatherhood Campaign, where he helps mentor young fathers to make healthy, strong families. He began to realize that he was doing something that wasn’t making his own family strong or healthier – he was smoking.
Vicente first tried cigarettes at age 16. By 18, he was smoking two packs a week. But his daughter’s urging and the soaring price of cigarettes led Vincente to stop smoking.
In the 10 months since he has quit, he has seen how young people think smoking cigarettes makes them cool and macho, and he doesn’t want his daughters ...
