Some big changes in 2022 and 2023 have set up the healthcare sector to advance screening for non-medical social needs in 2024 and beyond. This is great news as we work to address social determinants of health (SDoH), improve health outcomes, and reduce health disparities. But one key social need – transportation – isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Transportation is a foundational social need and often co-occurs with other needs and/or acts as a barrier to resolving other needs. Yet transportation is often poorly conceptualized, thus is poorly operationalized in social need screening tools and related justifications. In this post, we review the following big changes as they relate to transportation as a SDOH: Big Change 1: In 2022, the Centers for Medicare ...
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 ...
Apply now for the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) Hispanic Leadership Development Fellowship! The fellowship program is a paid, 9-month, in-person leadership opportunity to prepare for career opportunities in public health agencies and increase awareness and competency in health equity knowledge and practice, including infection control. Each fellow is paired with a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agency in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area from Sept. 1, 2024, to May 30, 2025. “We are dedicated to increasing the representation of Hispanics in key executive leadership positions,” said Dr. Elena Rios, NHMA President and CEO. Applications are due April 1, 2024. APPly Here!
Components of NHMA’s Hispanic Leadership ...
Half of all health care workers believe racism against patients is a major problem or crisis, according to a new study by The Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative (AARC).
In the comprehensive study, Revealing Disparities: Health Care Workers' Observations of Discrimination in Their Field, researchers surveyed 3,000 health care workers from different ethnic backgrounds, ages, facilities, and areas of care about their thoughts and experiences with patient discrimination.
“Discrimination based on race or ethnicity presents a serious barrier to obtaining high-quality, equitable health care. Because health care workers bear witness to the treatment of patients in the course of their jobs, they can provide a fuller understanding of how and where discrimination ...
You’ve probably heard the expression, “Get your steps in,” but just how many steps are needed to make a difference in your health? The average American takes anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, which equates to 1.5 to 2 miles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the CDC suggests that most adults should aim for at least 10,000 steps, which is equivalent of walking 5 miles, a day to maintain a healthier existence. If walking 5 miles a day puts a spring in your step toward a healthy lifestyle, just how many steps would it take to lower your risk for type 2 diabetes? A recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism looked at Fitbit data collected from 5,600 participants in the All of Us research ...
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 ...
