Germs are everywhere, including in dirt and dust! When we think of dirt in our daily lives, we usually think of potted plants and gardens. When we think of dust, we think of the kind that we clean in our house and workplaces. But fine dust can also be present at construction and maintenance projects inside a building, like taking out parts of a wall or renovating a room. Also, when construction and maintenance projects that move a lot of dirt and dust around happen in or near a healthcare facility, it can send germs that are in the dirt and dust into the air. These germs can harm certain patients with weakened immune systems.
What Kind of Germs Are in Dirt and Dust?
Dirt and dust contain many germs, including a fungus called Aspergillus. Aspergillus and other fungi ...
About 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. For Latinos, colorectal cancer mortality rates remain stagnant due to a number of differences including lack of access to healthy and nutritious food and less access to health insurance and healthcare. While many do experience symptoms when developing colorectal cancer, some may not. Therefore, it is important for Latinos and all people to take measures that can decrease the risk for the disease through making healthy choices, and create healthier environments for healthy lives! Let’s use #SaludTues on March 7, 2023, to dive into the importance of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. WHAT: #SaludTues: National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST (Noon-1 p.m. CST), Tuesday, ...
We know you are a healthcare worker who cares about infection control. That’s why we urge you to use your platform – LinkedIn – to ask your fellow doctors, nurses, or other healthcare staff to take an infection control module from Project Firstline, a training and education collaborative designed by the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Just follow these easy steps:
1. See Why You Should Share!
Read up on Project Firstline and why you should share.
2 Choose a Message to Share! Do you know the latest in infection control action? Earn CE credit and refresh your knowledge on infection control through a variety of short, easy-to-understand modules and activities by CDC’s Project Firstline. #saludfirstline salud.to/CEcredits
Friends, are you ...
Researchers are exploring a genetic variant that could explain the higher rates of Alzheimer’s among Latinos living in Puerto Rico. This work – which is ongoing – could help fill a critical gap in Latino Alzheimer’s research and spark new treatments for dementia, according to researchers at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics at the University of Miami. “A genetic target, which drug companies are showing interest in, is twice as likely to be successful therapeutically than nongenetic targets,” Margaret Pericak-Vance, leader of the Hussman Institute, told NBC News. Let’s dive into the research and how it impacts Latinos and all people!
The Need for Genetic Research on Alzheimer’s among Latinos
Latinos are 1.5 times more likely than their peers to ...
Ah, February. The month dedicated to celebrating love and relationships. But before you take a deep dive down the Valentine’s Day candy aisle, consider a healthier way to show yourself and loved ones some love. February is American Heart Month, a time for Latinos and all people to focus on their cardiovascular health. Join us in raising awareness of heart disease, the driving forces behind it, and how to address it throughout the month of February and beyond.
What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions, according to the CDC. The most common type of heart disease in the US is coronary artery disease, which can restrict blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack. Other forms of heart disease include irregular heartbeats, ...
The rise of COVID-19 worsened daily life for Latinos and many others in areas like healthcare, housing, income, and food access. Stress and anxiety are other grim outcomes of the pandemic, especially for youth. Following COVID-19-fueled school shutdowns and social isolation, adolescents experienced more symptoms of anxiety and depression and greater internalizing problems than before the pandemic, according to a new study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The brains of teens and young adults were also deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “In addition to replicating prior findings that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected adolescents’ mental health, this study showed that the pandemic may have physically aged their brains,” according to ...
In the small rural Central California town of Selma, a young Trinidad Solis watched long stretches of farmland float by through the car window. She listened to her parents in the front seat discuss their upcoming doctor’s appointment in Spanish. As Mexican immigrant farmworkers, Solis’ parents faced hardships accessing healthcare, including a language difference. Since her parents were monolingual Spanish-speakers, Solis often served as translator during her parents’ health appointments and helped them navigate the complex healthcare system. These childhood interactions spurred Solis’ desire to become a bilingual, background sensitive family physician who could provide healthcare, including infection prevention and control services, to vulnerable patients like her ...
When COVID-19 first struck America in 2020, Latinos were deeply affected. Not only did the pandemic create high rates of infection, hospitalization, and death among Latinos, it also worsened historical health differences, from access to healthcare and vaccinations to food insecurity, housing issues, and incorrect information. Today, as new variants continue to arise, an unresolved threat has emerged – Long COVID. Let’s analyze the lingering symptoms of Long COVID-19 and how it impacts Latinos today.
What is Long COVID?
The Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC, and other partners have worked to define “long COVID” or “post-COVID conditions.” “In April 2020, shortly after the beginning of the pandemic, anecdotal reports from patients started to ...
As more healthcare systems start to screen patients for non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH), we at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio are spotlighting why screening for NMDoH is so important to improve health outcomes for all people, including Latinos. Today, we are sharing three NMDoH screening tools that can help address NMDoH-related needs, or the non-medical challenges to health, of all patients. You can use these screening tools – questionnaires that gather information from patients – in your healthcare facility or use them as inspiration to create your own screening tool. Let’s dive into these health-changing tools!
The Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE®)
PRAPARE® helps health centers and other ...
