Some big changes in 2022 and 2023 have set up the healthcare sector to advance screening for non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH) in 2024 and beyond. This is great news as we work to address NMDoH, improve health outcomes, and reduce health issues. But one key NMDoH-related need – transportation – isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Transportation is a foundational NMDoH-related need and often co-occurs with other needs and/or acts as a challenge to resolving other needs. Yet transportation is often poorly conceptualized, thus is poorly operationalized in NMDoH-related need screening tools and related justifications. In this post, we review the following big changes as they relate to transportation as non-medical drivers of health: Big Change 1: In 2022, ...
The 2024 calendar year marks a potential turning point in the federal government as the presidential election is set to take center stage in November.
Latino voters could help decide the outcome.
Of the over 246 million Americans projected to be registered to vote in 2024, 36.2 million are Latino, according to data published by Pew Research Center. That’s a 3.9 million increase from the last presidential election.
The recent rise in projected voter registration means that Latinos will have a 14.71% say in what happens in the upcoming election.
So, what’s on the mind of the Latino voter?
To answer, Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors partnered with UnidosUS and BSP Research to survey 1,500 Latino parents with children 5-years-old and younger to understand the issues driving them to the ...
In December 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released the final rule adopting the nearly 1,200-page 11th Edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). The MUTCD is the national standard for all road marking, highway signs, and traffic signals. Three years prior, the FHWA requested public comments on the proposed changes to the then-700-page MUTCD, which hadn’t been updated since 2009. More than 25,000 people submitted public comments. That included nearly 450 of the model comments developed by our team at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio. Let’s explore how the FHWA hit the mark for improvement (or missed an opportunity) for five key areas of concern in our model comments and those of other transportation ...
Check out USDA’s new data tool called the Child Nutrition Dashboard! The dashboard, which is comprised of public data published in the child nutrition tables, can help federal, state, and local organizations assess trends in child nutrition program activity. “The goal of the dashboard is to provide national and state level visualization of meals served, participation, and funding data for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program,” according to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). Let’s dive into how this tool can be used and why it benefits Latinos!
Nutrition Dashboard Insights
The Child Nutrition Dashboard provides information on participation, meals served, ...
Obesity Care Week 2024 (#ObesityCareWeek) is here! From March 4-8, 2024, Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias, as well as raise awareness, educate and advocate for a better world for people living with obesity. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2024. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an Obesity Care Week Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized. Those impacted struggle to receive any care in many cases, let alone adequate care," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher. Salud America! research has found that U.S. Latinos face ...
At her annual wellness visit, Dr. Stormee Williams filled out a digital questionnaire that asked about her need for help with housing, transportation, food access, and other non-medical needs. Williams was taking an “Non-Medical Drivers of Health (NMDoH) Screener.” An NMDoH screener is a questionnaire to help healthcare workers identify a patient’s issues with the non-medical drivers of health. These are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of systems that shape life. If a screener finds a patient in need, healthcare workers can then connect the patient to community support and resources. Helping patients address these non-medical needs can help them achieve better health. Williams, fortunately, didn’t have non-medical ...
Many know of the harms and health risks of smoking and secondhand smoke. However, you may not have heard of thirdhand smoke, which is the chemical pollutants that linger and settle indoors after tobacco is smoked. “The chemicals in thirdhand smoke include nicotine as well as cancer-causing substances such as formaldehyde, naphthalene and others,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Policy gaps are failing to protect the public from thirdhand smoke, according to a recent study. The study suggests that policies safeguard against thirdhand smoke even as they protect against secondhand smoke exposure by prohibiting indoor smoking in public places. “While these measures have been instrumental in protecting public health, saving lives, and reducing health care ...
The way into a person’s heart is through their mind — at least that’s the case in the “A Mindful Heart: Stress Management for Individuals with Hypertension” program.
Program leader Dr. Stacy Ogbeide of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at UT Health San Antonio is taking a psychological approach to address hypertension, which is a key risk factor for many heart diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. Ogbeide is looking for adults with high blood pressure living in San Antonio to participate in a free program that focuses on stress management intervention in a group setting, which can include education, arousal reduction, such as relaxation training, and behavioral skills training, like coping strategies.
“The group format has been recommended when ...
National Healthy Weight Week is recognized on the third week of January every year and focuses on achieving and maintaining healthy weight through healthy eating, physical activity, optimal sleep, and stress reduction. Obesity affects more than 40% of Americans, placing them at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Latino adults and children have among the highest rates of obesity. With this in mind, let’s explore resources that can help you start achieving a healthy weight and improve your health!
Get Help Changing Your Habits for Healthy Weight
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) provides a guide, “Changing Your Habits for Better Health,” in English or ...
