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 ...
Latinos are uninsured more than two times the rate of their white peers. Given that Latinos are projected to grow to 29% of the population by 2050, this lack of healthcare coverage, including Medicaid, will continue to endanger the health of many more individuals, families, and the healthcare system. We’re raising awareness of the Latino healthcare crisis, its impact on Latino communities, and how you can help Latinos gain health insurance coverage.
How Many Latinos Lack Health Insurance?
Despite the benefits of health insurance, people from overlooked populations, low-income families, and other vulnerable groups unfortunately lack health insurance coverage in the US. Latinos are especially uninsured. A 2022 Census Bureau report found that Latinos had the highest uninsured ...
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 drivers 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 Drivers 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 background environments through business actions that ...
The American Heart Association (AHA) is working to boost health improvement through a variety of online health lessons, called EmPOWERED to Serve. EmPOWERED to Serve includes over a dozen science-based toolkits and lessons covering health education and community support. Toolkits are free and open to the public and can be reached on the EmPOWERED to Serve Health Lessons website. “The EmPOWERED to Serve health lessons offer a way to engage and motivate communities to create a [positive] health [environment],” according to the AHA website. Let’s dive into why these health lessons are a useful and how they can be beneficial for all!
Health Differences Among Communities
Where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of ...
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 non-medical drivers of health – can greatly help or harm our health. As a result, more healthcare facilities are screening patients for non-medical drivers of health 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. Non-medical drivers of health screenings can help medical providers better understand and address patients’ social needs, which can be beneficial for overlooked patients who face health differences, such as Latinos. If patients screen positive for ...
Studies show that community health workers (CHWs) can help address a variety of health differences in vulnerable populations, such as Latinos. A new study, published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, adds to this growing body of evidence. Let’s look at the findings of this study and why CHWs, also known as promotoras de salud and patient navigators, are increasingly recognized for their critical role in increasing healthcare access for medically overlooked populations.
The Impact of CHWs on Heart Health
The new study, conducted by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, examined high blood pressure differences in New York’s South Asian American population. This population faces similar challenges as Latinos in accessing healthcare, ...
To help address social needs, or the non-medical challenges to health, more healthcare systems are screening patients for non-medical drivers of health. We at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio are spotlighting why non-medical drivers of health screenings can be an effective way to improve health outcomes for Latinos and all patients. Today, we are sharing three more non-medical drivers of health screening tools – questionnaires that gather information from patients – that may be helpful to your healthcare facility. Download these screening tools or use them as inspiration to create your own! For more screening tool options, please read our first list of non-medical drivers of health screening tools.
The Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Health-Related Social ...
As more healthcare systems start to screen patients for social determinants of health (SDoH), we at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio are spotlighting why screening for SDoH is so important to improve health outcomes, especially among Latinos. Today, we are sharing three SDoH screening tools that can help address social needs, or the non-medical barriers to health, of Latinos and all patients. You can use these screening tools – questionnaires that gather information from patients – in your healthcare facility or use them as inspiration to create your own screening tool. Let’s dive into these health-changing tools!
The Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE®)
PRAPARE® helps health centers and other providers ...
Did you know that your Zip code is more important than your genetic code in predicting how long you will live? That’s right – where you live can have a big impact on your health. In fact, our health is influenced by a variety of non-medical factors, such as the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work, and age. These conditions are known as non-medical drivers of health. Addressing non-medical drivers of health is key to improving health for Latinos and all people. Numerous studies suggest that non-medical drivers of health accounts for between 30-55% of health outcomes and non-medical drivers of health influences individual health behaviors, which account for another 30% of health outcomes. Fortunately, healthcare systems are placing more emphasis on screening ...
