Did you know that our health is influenced by many non-medical factors? That’s right. The conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age – known as social determinants of health (SDoH) – can greatly help or harm our health. As a result, more healthcare facilities are screening patients for SDoH through written questionnaires or verbal questions. Screenings can cover a variety of topics, such as mental and financial health and access to healthy food, transportation, and affordable medication. SDoH screening can help medical providers better understand and address patients’ social needs, which can be beneficial for vulnerable patients who face health inequities, such as Latinos. If patients screen positive for social needs, providers can connect them to ...
Nutritious food is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle for children. However, a February 2023 CDC report shows that many children ages 1-5 are not eating fruits and vegetables daily and are regularly drinking sugary beverages. “In 20 states, more than one half of children did not eat a vegetable daily during the preceding week. In 40 states and the District of Columbia, more than one half of children drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once during the preceding week,” according to the CDC. Let’s dive deeper and find out the state of diets among Latinos and all children, the role of healthy food access, and how we can create healthier food environments for children.
The State of Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
The new CDC report paints a grim ...
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of paid sick leave (PSL) policies in the workforce. Unfortunately, 21% of America’s working population still does not have access to PSL three years after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, according to Change Lab Solutions. Here’s why PSL continues to be so important, and how advocates can work toward achieving local, state, and national PSL policies that promote the health of Latinos and all people.
What Does Paid Sick Leave Look Like in America?
Shockingly, the US is one of only three high-income countries in the world without any form of national paid sick leave, according to Change Lab Solutions. The need for PSL for all Americans is stronger than ever, especially as government leaders end various pandemic-era public ...
A nutritious diet is essential for good health. But many vulnerable populations, such as Latinos, struggle to access and afford healthy food. To help, we need to know where to start. Fortunately, a new tool, the Food Equity Opportunity Map, highlights healthy food access issues across the country to show where improving access would make the greatest impact. “Together, we can build community health through improving Food Equity, but only if we first understand where that work is most needed. That’s why we launched the Food Equity Opportunity Map,” according to the creators of the map, Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), a national nonprofit organization focused on health equity, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Mapping Food Equity and Food ...
In January 2023, the Biden-Harris administration released a Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights. The purpose of the blueprint is to support a well-functioning, equitable housing market for renters and all of society, which is important for Latinos who struggle with access to affordable housing. Let’s explore the blueprint and its five principles that “create a shared baseline for fairness” for Latino and all renters, according to the White House.
Blueprint Principle 1: Safe, Quality, Accessible, and Affordable Housing
Where you live affects your health. Renters should have access to safe, quality housing in neighborhoods that meet their health needs, including access to green spaces, reliable public transportation, and nutritious food. In addition, quality housing ...
The USDA is proposing to make online food shopping an option for families in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Up to now, WIC participants had to use vouchers or electronic benefits cards (EBT) at the store. With the proposed changes, participants could shop online for groceries – a move that aims to improve the WIC shopping experience while increasing equity and access to nutritious foods for WIC participants, thus positively impacting nutrition security. May 2023 Update: 329 Salud America! members submitted a model comment and were among over 1,600 people overall to USDA’s proposed changes to enable WIC participants to shop online for food. The model comment was created by Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio in ...
Obesity Care Week 2023 (#OCW2023) is here! From Feb. 27 to March 3, 2023, 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, 2023. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an OCW2023 Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized and 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. "OCW2023 aims to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for ...
In November 2022, the USDA proposed science-backed changes to improve nutrition and promote and support breastfeeding in the food packages of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). USDA sought comments on its proposal through Feb. 21, 2023. As of today, 15,238 people submitted comments on the proposed WIC food package update, including over 135 comments in English and Spanish from a comment campaign by Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio in partnership with UnidosUs! See all comments here.
Why are the Proposed WIC Changes Needed for Latinos?
Many Latinos face both food and nutrition insecurity. Of Latino low-income households, 69.4% were food secure, 18.8% were food insecure, and 11.8% were very low food security, according to ...
Research shows that the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age can have a big impact on our health. Health data tools, like Salud America!’s Health Equity Report Card, can help everyone from elected leaders to everyday Americans assess local health data, compare data to other places, and determine how to address the systemic inequities that are driving health issues in their communities. Now, Americans have access to another health data tool – the Congressional Health District Dashboard – thanks to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The dashboard provides all 435 US congressional districts (and DC) access to local health data that was previously unavailable at the congressional district level, nor was ...
