As a doctor’s son, Daniel Ruben Flores grew up in his family’s pediatric clinic. He and his siblings hammered away at their math and reading homework after school at the clinic, while their parents helped the sick. Flores often paused to admire the handwritten letters – and drawings of his father with a stethoscope – on the wall from patients thanking the pediatrician for caring for them. “Wow, all these other kids really appreciate my dad and all the work he’s doing,” Flores recalled fondly. “I feel like that just kind of motivates you ... to go into the field.” Witnessing his father’s work and the impact he had on his patients helped spark a fire in Flores to pursue medicine and help people, too. He’s taking big steps now – like ...
You can help create a healthier future. Volunteers for registries, research programs, and clinical trials can help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat cancer and other diseases. “With diverse research participation, researchers have more opportunity to create better prevention and treatments that work for all people,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. Here are seven research opportunities based in San Antonio and beyond to explore this month!
1. Latina Health Reproductive Health Screenings
University of Texas at San Antonio researchers are seeking Hispanic and Latina women between ages 50 and 65 living in San Antonio to comment about their last Pap ...
As of 2023, there are 169 million women and 166 million men living in the US.
While men and women share many of the same health risks and concerns, women have their own unique challenges, such as reproductive cancers and maternal health, and are more prone to certain diseases and adverse health conditions.
Women, especially women from racial/ethnic and underserved populations, including Latinas, are exposed to barriers to healthcare resulting in worse health outcomes.
Let’s explore six disparities impacting women’s health in the US.
1. Cancer Screenings
Several cancers affect women more than men, or specifically impact women, such as cervical and ovarian cancers.
This makes cancer screening so important for women. However, women, especially women of color, face a lot of ...
Facing homelessness and battling PTSD, trauma, and disability, US Navy veteran Olivia Zavala Carridine was struggling. She found a lifeline in Grace After Fire. Olivia, a mother of four in San Antonio, got pivotal support from the women veteran’s organization – which aims to provide women the resources and tools to succeed in her community, work, and home after leaving the military. “[Grace After Fire] has empowered me to believe that I shouldn't be ashamed of my story,” she said. “I have a sisterhood with women that I didn't have many times with my sisters serving alongside me.” Olivia got back on her feet with the help of Grace After Fire – and she’s not the only one.
Grace After Fire Origins
Some wars take place on a battlefield, standing toe ...
In March 2024, we invited organizations, leaders, and clinicians in The Alamo City to learn about the social determinants of health (SDOH) in San Antonio and how they could leverage the All of Us Research Program to promote health equity in research.
This time, we are getting personal about your health by exploring the benefits of All of Us, including how you can get a free report about your genetic ancestry, your genetic traits (why you might love or hate cilantro), and risk for diseases.
To learn more about your health story, watch our webinar, “What Does Your Health Story Say About You? Investing in Personal Health Through All of Us."
Join us as we take a tour of the interactive All of Us Research Program portal and answer some of your burning questions about how the program can ...
Memorial Day is May 27, 2024. We at Salud America! are excited to honor all U.S. military personnel, including the Latinos, who have served and died for our country.
Latinos in the Military: History
Latinos have a “proud and indeed enviable” record of military service that dates back all the way to the Civil War, according to a U.S. Army historical website. About 20,000 Latino serviceman and women participated in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-1991, 80,000 in the Vietnam War in 1959-1973, and more than 400,000 in World War II in 1939-1945. Latinos have earned more than 40 Medals of Honor, according to the Department of Defense. “Whether their heritage can be traced to Spain, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, or one of dozens of other Spanish-speaking countries or ...
More than 100,000 people are waiting for a life-changing organ transplant in the US, according to the American Heart Association. The stark reality is that nearly 23% of those on the transplant candidate waiting list are Latino — that’s one out of every five people. In fact, 59% of all transplant candidates on the waiting list are Black, Latino, or Asian. These populations are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases, leading to the need for a transplant. In 2023, Latinos received 8,540 of the over 46,000 transplants performed, including 580 hearts, according to the American Heart Association. Despite the number of transplants performed and Latinos on the waiting list, organ donation remains low in the Latino community.
Latino Organ ...
For the last several years, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program has endeavored to collect the health data of over 1 million Americans to ensure healthcare works for all of us. Are they close to 1 million participants? How has it helped boost research? Let’s look at five notable milestones the program has reached in its mission to build a health data network that looks like all of us. 1. Increasing the Diversity of Research Participation With help from local community partnerships, including UT Health San Antonio, across the country, over 790,000 people nationwide have decided to join the program’s expansive and inclusive research network, the program announced in a recent news release. In addition, over 540,000 ...
Did you know about 90,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor every year? Similarly, over 1.3 million people in the United States are living with a primary or secondary/metastatic brain tumor. For ourselves, our familia, and our comunidad, we should know a few important things about brain tumors so we can help all those impacted by a tumor diagnosis. Thankfully, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) has amazing resources to help. Let’s explore and learn! Access this resource in Spanish!
1. Know the Types of Brain Tumors
A brain tumor is a growth of abnormal cells that have formed in the brain. But not all brain tumors are the same. “Some brain tumors are malignant (cancerous), while others are not (non-malignant, non-cancerous or benign). A ...
