As 2020 comes to an end, let’s take a look at health this year. In a year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have several concerns about the health and safety of their children. Overuse of social media/screen time (72%), bullying/cyberbullying (62%), and Internet safety (62%) were parents top overall concerns, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health 2020. The survey asked a national sample of Latino, Black, and white parents to rate the top health concerns for U.S. children ages 0-18. “Overall, 8 of the Top 10 concerns most commonly rated by all parents as a ‘big problem’ are frequently associated with changes in lifestyle and may be related to efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the survey ...
This is part of the Salud America! Achieving a Cohesive Culture for Health Equity in Latino and All Communities: A Research Review»
System Justification Is a Key Mechanism People Use to Excuse Discrimination among People of Color, Those in Poverty
System justification is the label for a social psychology theory asserting that people will rationalize the status quo, as they believe that the social, economic, and political systems must be fair and advantageous, otherwise they would not be in place.55 In other words, the theory states that there is a general subjective motive justifying the existing socioeconomic order; that motive is partially responsible for creating and maintaining the inferiority of racial/ethnic and other minority groups and is largely implicit; and the motive may ...
This is part of the Salud America! Achieving a Cohesive Culture for Health Equity in Latino and All Communities: A Research Review»
The Impact of Discrimination is Far-Reaching for Latinos, Other People of Color
The collective findings on the impacts of discrimination on education, opportunity, and health are critical for people of color. Overall, more Americans say that being Latino hurts people’s ability to get ahead in this country (51%) than say it helps (18%) or that it neither helps nor hurts (30%), according to 2019 and 2020 Pew Research Center surveys.39,40 Among Latinos themselves, about 23% say being Latino has hurt their ability to get ahead at least a little. More Latinos than Whites also say they have been treated unfairly in hiring, pay, or promotion (26% to 19%), ...
U.S. Latinos are bearing an extraordinary burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Why is this? Health experts are trying to find an answer. They say the pandemic is worsening historical health and social inequities among Latinos and other people of color, affecting people of a certain age, and those who have diabetes, obesity, and cancer, as well as those who smoke. Now a study points to a new, but common, culprit: language barriers (and the healthcare system's failure to accommodate people who don't speak English).
Latinos Face Language Barriers During COVID-19 Pandemic
Language is a common barrier to health care. That's why Spanish translation is important in education, providing medical care, bullying prevention, healthcare access, and even podcasting. When it comes to ...
U.S.-born Latino youth with immigrant parents suffer "significantly increased" anxiety over immigration since the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, according to a recent study. Researchers in California and Arizona studied 397 U.S. citizen children of Latino immigrants. They compared children before the election at age 14 and after the election at age 16, to see if their concerns over immigration policy linked up to worse mental, physical health. Nearly half the youth worried "at least sometimes" about U.S. immigration policy. That included whether they'd be reported to immigration officials or their parents would be deported. Their health problems surged after the 2016 election, according to the study. "Fear and worry about the personal consequences of current U.S. ...
They say a picture can illustrate what at times words cannot. That is what drove Jayme Hannay to lead a decade-long project that encouraged teen empowerment, advocacy, and healthy change in New Britain, Connecticut — Photovoice. Hannay and her team teach local teens about photography, but for an ethical cause: Showcase how the local environment contributes to health issues, and spur solutions. With core support from the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program and a research grant from Salud America!, they launched the Healthy Tomorrows for Teens project. “Photovoice can expedite policy change because it makes community members co-researchers in assessing their environment and allows for rapid translation of their findings into action," said Hannay, a project ...
On the night of Oct. 1, 2017, a shooter opened fire at a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. He killed 59 people, injured 500 more, and traumatized thousands of kids and families. For Tammy Malich, it was another wake-up call on the path to a positive school climate. Malich, assistant superintendent at Clark County School District in Nevada, already ushered the district toward restorative justice—addressing the mental and emotional roots of student behaviors instead of immediately punishing students—to improve classroom success. But the shooting highlighted the kind of trauma students may experience at home or in the community, which can burden learning and attendance in school. Malich wanted Clark County schools to be better prepared to help traumatized students. She ...
Youth suicides have spiked over the last decade, and substance misuse is exacting a heavy toll on teens, according to a new report. The report from Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust, Addressing a Crisis: Cross-Sector Strategies to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use and Suicide, indicates that trends are worse for racial/ethnic, gender, and other minority youth. The report also highlights emerging approaches to help put youth on healthy pathways into adulthood. "Adolescence is a challenging time when the impact of poverty, discrimination, bullying and isolation can be intense," said John Auerbach, head of Trust for America’s Health, in a statement. "Fortunately, there are policies and programs that can reduce some of these circumstances and the risks associated ...
Latino kids who experience the immigration-related arrest of a family member report more severe levels of depression than those who don’t have such an experience, according to new research. This is especially true for children who have one or both parents undocumented. “These arrests often are a distant abstract fear or urban legend for many Latino kids, but it becomes very real and frightening when it happens to their family, which can have serious repercussions for their mental health,” said lead researcher Dr. Zachary Giano of Oklahoma State University, in a press release.
Distressing Findings
The research, led by Oklahoma State University, is published in the American Psychological Association's journal Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. The scientists ...
