Hispanic Heritage Month is here! This annual U.S. observance, from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We at Salud America! invite you to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in these awesome ways.
1. Learn How Hispanic Heritage Month Started
U.S. Congressmen Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and Henry B. Gonzales were among those who introduced legislation on the topic in 1968. President Lyndon Johnson implemented the observance as Hispanic Heritage Week that year. U.S. Rep. Esteban E. Torres of Pico Rivera proposed the observance be expanded to cover its current 30-day period. President Ronald Reagan implemented the expansion to Hispanic ...
When Gilberto Lopez was visiting his family in California at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he realized his community wasn’t getting the information they needed about safety precautions. “Information that was coming through to my academic bubble, I call it ‘The Harvard Bubble,’ was completely different than the information about COVID that was coming down to the immigrant community,” said Lopez, who comes from a farm-working community in the Central Valley. He wanted to do something to make sure Latino communities learned about COVID-19 and vaccines in culturally relevant ways, like art. Lopez is an assistant professor at Arizona State University's School of Transborder Studies, where he focuses on the health and wellbeing of immigrant, Mexican communities in the ...
For the third time, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez's Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program at UT Health San Antonio has been named a finalist for Excelencia in Education's "Examples of Excelencia." The awards spotlight evidence-based programs that support Latino students in higher education. Éxito! was also a finalist in 2018 and 2019. The winning “Examples of Excelencia” in four categories—associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organizations—will be announced virtually at Excelencia in Education’s annual Celebracion de Excelencia on Oct. 28. 2021. Excelencia in Education is a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education. Éxito! recruits 25 Latino students and health professionals annually for a culturally tailored ...
Today, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) designated UT Health San Antonio and UT Texas Rio Grande Valley as an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center to boost research and reduce the Alzheimer's burden among Latinos, who suffer disparities in dementia. The new center is the first in South Texas. It joins 32 other centers nationwide that are accelerating research on effective Alzheimer’s and dementia prevention, diagnostics, and treatments, and improving support for families and caregivers. Salud America! is a center partner to promote its research and clinical trials. "This federal designation by NIA will be transformational as we seek cures and provide the best possible care, based on the most up-to-date knowledge and technology, ...
Pregnant Latinas have some of the lowest vaccination rates against COVID-19 compared to other ethnic/racial groups, according to a report from the CDC. The disparity is likely due to less culturally competent and accessible healthcare in communities of color, as well as vaccine misinformation about fertility and pregnancy. The CDC encourages all people who are eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and that pregnancy should not be a barrier. “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future,” according to the CDC’s website. With more culturally relevant resources regarding vaccine safety for fertility and pregnancy, vaccine ...
Sadly, Latinos are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than whites. Across the board, Latinos are underrepresented in clinical research. Without Latino representation in Alzheimer's clinical trials, researchers cannot find treatments that work best for this population. Researchers also must understand and address the differential role of Alzheimer's among Latinos, and the impact of alcohol, sleep deprivation, diabetes, and more. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, to tweet about the latest research and beneficial strategies and clinical trials to reduce Alzheimer's disease and promote better brain health among Latinos and all people! WHAT: #SaludTues: Importance of Latino Participation in Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease
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Combat COVID is a federal education initiative to share bilingual information and tips about vaccines, potential treatments, and clinical trials for COVID-19. A clinical trial is a research study to find a new treatment or achieve a better understand a disease. In the case of COVID-19, which has overly burdened Latinos and Blacks, clinical trials need more participants of color to ensure that COVID-19 treatments are effective for everyone. "Clinical trials are at the heart of many medical discoveries," according to the team at Combat COVID, run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "[Trials] are the key to protecting our communities now and in the future." Let's take a look at the work Combat COVID is doing.
Promoting Clinical Trails for COVID-19
Combat COVID ...
Family is a critical aspect in the lives of many Latinos. Moreover, research has shown that members of Latino families can heavily influence each other when it comes to physical, mental health and a wide range of political views. This includes the way this population views climate change, according to a recent report from Cornell University. “Feeling a sense of connection and commitment to your family, and believing that family considerations should guide our everyday decisions, may shape consensus views within a family, including for a societal problem like climate change,” Adam Pearson, an associate professor of psychological science at Pomona College, told the Cornell Chronicle. “And this may have implications for the sharing of climate beliefs and concerns within Latino ...
Where we live and the conditions that we live in impact our health and life outcomes. This concept is widely called the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). Unfortunately, when people live in and experience negative conditions, it can lead to poor health outcomes and disparities, particularly among Latinos and other marginalized communities. In their new SDOH framework, the Praxis Project highlights the root systems of oppression that have led to health disparities for communities of color. “Many traditional SDOH frameworks lack the explicit naming of systems of oppression that cause disparities in health determinants. In an effort to incorporate these systems of oppression and to highlight the root causes of these determinants from a justice and community power ...
