Latina Pushes the Public Health Envelope

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Rebecca Adeigbe grew up in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, a mostly Latino area that often lacks basic infrastructure—like streets and running water—and also is short on doctors and public health services.

Adeigbe now works to improve health in this region and beyond.

Adeigbe, a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio (the team behind SaludToday), empowers people to take control of their health, and emboldens others to focus on health research and changes.

“I’ve been increasingly attuned to high poverty and disease rates—and I enjoy working hard to make a real difference in improving health and quality of life,” Adeigbe said.

Adeigbe got her big break into public health in 2010.

As an intern for Míranos!, an obesity prevention program for minority preschoolers, she dressed up as Cookie Monster to teach kids about healthy foods.

“I often joke that my first gig as a health researcher was dancing around in a Cookie Monster costume teaching pre-k students about ‘sometimes’ and ‘anytime’ foods—but the program was a success, and ever since then I have been very interested in health research and investigating health disparities,” she said.

Today at the IHPR, Adeigbe coordinates Salud America!, a network of 10,000 parents, leaders, academics, and advocates for Latino child health.

She helped form the program’s award-winning Salud America! Growing Healthy Change website, launched in February 2014, with an interactive map and new campaigns, videos, and resources to help people make healthy changes in cities, schools, states and the nation.

“We’re developing scientific evidence and educational content that gives people the motivation and the tools to take ownership and drive healthy policy changes,” she said.

Adeigbe also helps coordinate the IHPR’s Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which encourages Latino master’s-level students or health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. The program offers a five-day summer institute.

Adeigbe, a graduate of the 2011 Èxito! class and a second-year applied demography PhD student at UT San Antonio, is a great role model.

“I enjoy helping others aspire to become doctors and Latino cancer researchers,” Adeigbe said. “It’s a great way to give back.”