Updated broadband coverage maps for all 254 counties in Texas highlight that many Texans lack the digital infrastructure needed for high speed, stable internet, particularly in rural areas and communities of color, according to Connected Nation Texas. “To close the Digital Divide in Texas, we need accurate data on where Texans are connected and where they lack basic infrastructure to participate in the digital world,” said Ellen Ray, Chair of Texas Rural Funders, which supported Connected Nation Texas in producing the maps, according to a press release. “The future of Texas education, healthcare, and economic development will depend on all Texans having the ability to access high-speed internet.” Lack of access to high-speed internet is especially prevalent in rural Latino ...
May is Healthy Vision Month! The National Eye Institute (NEI) has theme for Healthy Vision Month: "Eye on Health Equity." This is important because people of color, like Latinos, face barriers to eye health care. "NEI is putting a spotlight on the importance of increasing diversity in the eye health field — and how that can help everyone have an equal chance for healthy vision," according to the agency. Here are six ways to promote health equity and healthy vision.
1. Share Testimonials from Diverse Eye Health Professionals
NEI spoke with professionals about how increasing diversity and representation can improve eye health outcomes and promote health equity. Read their testimonials and share them with your network!
2. Meet the Organizations that Bring Healthy Vision ...
Many studies are uncovering an alarming link between COVID-19 and dementia. One study found that more than 80% of 509 hospitalized COVID-19 patients had "neurologic manifestations," according to Northwestern Medicine. The brain inflammation and mini-strokes observed in COVID-19 patients may increase their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia, another study found. Now a new study from the UK found that people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the previous six months were more likely to develop depression, dementia, psychosis and stroke. "The study confirms the researchers suspicions that a COVID-19 diagnosis is not just related to respiratory symptoms, it is also related to psychiatric and neurological problems", Prof Dame Til Wykes, at the Institute of ...
People decide to get a COVID-19 vaccine for a variety of reasons – to protect their families, to protect their health, and to help society return to normal. Some people are skeptical or hesitant to get the vaccine. Vaccine skepticism among Latinos is caused by a variety of sources, such as historical trauma from healthcare mistreatment and misinformation about vaccines that is circulated on social media. But many people are having a change of heart and deciding to get a vaccine. As a part of their ongoing research on attitudes about COVID-19, the de Beaumont Foundation, along with pollster Frank Luntz, conducted focus groups to hear from people who had changed their minds about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Let’s hear why some of these people wanted a vaccine after ...
Latinos with cancer face a tough survivorship journey. Many suffer advanced disease, poor quality of life, and stressful social and economic inequities. This is why a new, first-of-its-kind national cohort study will unpack the social, cultural, behavioral, psychosocial, biological, and medical influences on post-cancer life in Latino cancer survivors to fill a crucial gap in knowledge about their survivorship experience. The study, “Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study,” is funded by a 6-year, $9.8-million grant from the National Cancer Institute that will team up two of its Cancer Centers, the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of ...
Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer. Latinos, even while they smoke fewer cigarettes and experience lower rates of lung cancer than their White peers, still suffer poor outcomes, too. This is due to issues with access to treatment, and other significant factors, according to a recent study published in JCO Global Oncology. “Hispanics tend to experience greater health disparities as a result of structural, sociodemographic, psychosocial, and cultural factors … one-third of US Hispanics had no health insurance and reported not having a consistent health care provider,” the researchers state. “In addition, there is an underrepresentation of Hispanics in lung cancer studies, resulting in a need to research and validate the findings seen in NHWs.”
What Is Lung ...
COVID-19 has a disparate impact on people of color. Latinos, for example, suffer higher case and death rates than their White peers. At the same time, Latinos are getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates, due to distrust and misinformation. This is the focus of Univision's Facebook Live event in Spanish, “¿Tienes dudas sobre las vacanuas contra el covid-19 y comom recibirlas?" The panel is set for 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT on Thursday, April 29, 2021. Update 4/29/21: In case you missed it, here is the video link. Panelists include: Yarel Ramos, Univision Los Angeles
Janet Murguia, UnidosUS
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, Director of the Salud America! program and its multi-level efforts to promote action and information about COVID-19 and Latinos, ...
COVID-19 has a disparate impact on people of color. Latinos, for example, suffer higher case and death rates than their White peers. At the same time, Latinos are getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates. This is the focus of a Facebook Live town hall, "Making It Plain — Minority Health Professionals and Community Organizations Fight COVID Together," set for 7-8:45 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Update 4/29/21: In case you missed it, watch the video here. Panelists include: Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, is Director of the Salud America! program and its multi-level efforts to promote action and information about COVID-19 and Latinos, Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences, and Director of the Institute for Health ...
Prostate cancer has a big impact on the Latino community. One reason is that Latinos face a lack of easy-to-understand, culturally competent information — which leads to poor outcomes for those experiencing prostate cancer, according to a recent study published in BMC Public Health. “Black and Latino focus groups revealed the existence of cultural beliefs, misunderstandings and fears pertaining to [prostate cancer] which could influence health-related behaviors,” according to the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and MD Anderson Cancer Center. “Some themes were common across groups; others suggested racial and gender predilections. Future targeted efforts focused on directly addressing prevalent misperceptions among underserved communities in urban settings ...
