Since the 1960s, community health centers (also called Federally Qualified Health Centers) have made it their mission to increase people’s access to primary healthcare by reducing barriers, such as cost, lack of insurance, distance, and language. But beyond clinic walls, many people have big social needs, like unstable housing, that hurt their health. That is why the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) helped create a social determinants of health (SDoH) screening tool – PRAPARE® (Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patient’s Assets, Risks and Experiences) – to enable community health centers to identify social needs among patients and refer them to local resources for aid. Today, PRAPARE® helps hundreds of community health centers, like the ...
Family is the heart of Latino culture. Many Latinos are expected to take on the respectable but high-stress role of caregiving for their aging parents, who are 1.5 times more likely than non-Latino Whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Join UT Health San Antonio's webinar — “How to Care for the Latino Caregiver” — at 11 a.m. CST on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, to explore how to support Latino caregivers as they support their families. Panelists from UT Health San Antonio, the National Alliance for Caregiving, and Genentech will share how to ease caregivers’ stress, anxiety, and depression, as part of Alzheimer's And Brain Awareness Month in June. This is a part of a webinar of a series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of ...
A young Erik Cardenas sat quietly in his chair, gently swinging his legs back and forth. He clasped his hands together and observed the clinic waiting room. He could hear some patients chattering with family members in Spanish. Others looked like they could doze off any minute. “Cardenas?” called out a nurse holding a clipboard. Erik sprung from his chair and followed his parents and the nurse into the doctor’s office. He was glad the waiting game was over. “As Mexican immigrants living in Houston, my parents didn't have the best access to healthcare,” a grown Cardenas recalled. “I have a lot of memories of waiting hours at community safety net clinics, and after a multiple hour wait, you were lucky to see the doctor for five minutes.” Cardenas also recalls ...
US tuberculosis (TB) cases increased for the second straight year in 2022, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Certain racial and ethnic groups, including Latinos, saw considerable increases in TB infections. Let’s explore what this data means for Latinos, and why this population is more vulnerable to TB infections than their white counterparts.
What is Tuberculosis?
TB disease is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to the CDC. TB bacteria spreads through the air and usually targets the lungs but can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated, TB disease can be fatal. However, not everyone who becomes infected with TB will develop TB disease. Sometimes, TB ...
Despite the heaviest spending on healthcare, the US has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations. Unfortunately, this historic trend has worsened over time. To help mitigate the maternal mortality crisis, leaders should strengthen the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), according to Dr. Jamila Taylor, president and CEO of the National WIC Association (NWA). “WIC’s targeted support can and should be leveraged to reduce the prevalence of risk factors that contribute to adverse maternal health outcomes,” Dr. Taylor said in an NWA press release. Let’s explore the extent of pregnancy-related deaths in the US, the role of WIC in women’s health, and how you can support the WIC program and health equity in your ...
Healthcare coverage rates are better among people with higher education levels. But Latinos still face some of the largest health insurance coverage gaps among racial/ethnic groups, no matter their education level, new Census research shows. “Those identifying as American Indian and Alaska Native ... or Hispanic had the highest uninsured rates at all education levels,” according to the Census Bureau. Let’s dive deeper into the differences in education level and uninsured rates by race and ethnicity, with a close look at Latinos.
What Is the State of Latino Educational Attainment?
20.8% of Latinos age 25 to 64 had a bachelor's degree or higher in 2021, according to Census data. This is a lower rate than 60.8% of Asians (non-Hispanic), 41.5% of Whites (non-Hispanic), and ...
In the last few years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have come to appreciate the critical importance of public health. In honor of National Public Health Week 2023 (Monday April 3 through Sunday April 9), we’re highlighting an emerging public health concern that impacts health outcomes worldwide: the commercial determinants of health (CDoH). Let’s examine why CDoH is gaining more attention among public health professionals, and how we can address its negative health impacts.
What are the Commercial Determinants of Health?
In the past decade, public health practitioners have noted the growing influence of companies on federal laws and policies. As a result, companies have gained more power in shaping our social, physical, and cultural environments through business ...
Knowing where germs live and thrive is important for infection control in healthcare. When you understand where germs live and how they can spread from place to place and make people sick, the infection control actions you take to keep them from spreading become second nature.
How Do Germs Spread?
Germs must be moved from person to person, place to place, or between places and people for them to potentially get someone sick. When you’re thinking about the risk for germs to spread in healthcare, the first step is to think through where germs live. A “reservoir” is a place where germs live and thrive. Like a habitat. Reservoirs can be in the human body – the skin, the gastrointestinal system, the respiratory system, including the nose, throat, and lungs, and the ...
When people donate biospecimens—blood, fluid, or tissue samples—it gives researchers the opportunity to better understand, treat, and prevent conditions from cancer to Alzheimer’s. So why don't Latinos donate? Find the answers at UT Health San Antonio's Zoom webinar — “The Importance of Diverse Biospecimens and How Can Latinos Donate” — at 10 a.m. CT on April 5, 2023. The webinar features experts from UT Health San Antonio, Genentech, and leaders and participants in the All of Us Research Program discussing how to increase diverse biospecimen donation and point to donation opportunities. This is a part of a webinar of a series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for Health ...
