The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently announced more than $140 million that will be distributed among 12 workforce programs across the country. A study from the Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortfall of between 14,900 and 35,600 primary care physicians by 2025. The award from HRSA will fund grants related to primary care training, specifically, encouraging diversity in the primary care workforce. As the Latino population continues to grow in the United States, there is also a growing need for qualified Latino/Hispanic healthcare workers to address this population’s needs. In addition to needing someone to communicate in Spanish, having healthcare workers that are culturally sensitive to the needs of their patients is essential to the ...
In Las Cruces, NM city council members will meet today, May 23, 2016, to discuss plans for expanding the local agriculture and food environment, through a comprehensive Urban Agriculture and Food Policy plan, developed by local non-profit La Semilla Food Center. Exactly what is urban agriculture (UA)? The idea is to inform leaders about the many forms, benefits and opportunities that UA has to offer the local community. UA is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in and around towns and cities. Through UA communities are no longer held to the idea that local growing is just for farmers or rural communities, but in reality schools, churches, local businesses, housing authorities, residents and virtually anyone with a desire to grow and produce their ...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has newly released a toolkit for those in urban agriculture or looking to be an agri-business entrepreneur. The opportunities in agri-business help drive job growth in agriculture and expand food access and choice which is vital to Latino communities in need of healthy food access in urban and rural areas. The toolkit is an electronic document that helps urban and small farms navigate more than 70 resources including tech assistance and financing opportunities. Baltimore organizations have added resources into the toolkit including "How-To' guides and law project manuals. To learn more, click here! To access the Toolkit, click here! Copy & Share on Twitter: Attention all #urbanfarm #entrepreneurs, need resources? See the new @USDA ...
The child poverty rate in Colorado declined in 2014, marking the first consecutive decline in over a decade as was determined by the annual KIDS COUNT in Colorado! report. However, disparities still exist and improvements are not reaching all children. Colorado’s overall child poverty rate is 15%, which is still five points higher than it was in 2000. Poverty is defined as an annual income of less than $23,850 for a family of four. Disparities also remain significant for many children of ethnic and racial minorities. “We’re encouraged by the improvements in well-being for Colorado kids,” said Chris Watney, President and CEO of the Colorado Children’s Campaign. “These trends are buoyed by economic progress, as well as key policy changes supported by research. Breakthroughs ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
More access to supermarkets results in less obesity risk
Greater neighborhood access to supermarkets catering to low-income populations is linked to a lower prevalence of obesity in adults and children. Evidence from systematic reviews, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies collectively show the relationship between greater access to supermarkets and lower prevalence of obesity. Only two studies have analyzed the relationship between lack of local supermarket access and obesity over a period of time (2 years and 4 years). The data from these studies show mixed evidence in adults and children. One study reported that an increase in accessible supermarkets was associated with decreased BMI for adults who moved from ...
A vaccine can't prevent disease unless people use it. In Texas, a largely Latino state, only 39% of girls and 15% of boys ages 13-17 complete the three-dose HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer and other problems. Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina has a plan to change that. Parra-Medina, a health researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, received a new $1.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop an professional education and community outreach program to increase awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccine among children in South Texas. She and her team will train local health care providers to deliver accurate HPV vaccine ...
Hispanic children who participated in a unique weight-maintenance pilot intervention were more likely to adopt healthy lifestyles, resulting in healthier weights, than children who didn’t participate, according to a UT Health San Antonio study in the June 2015 issue of the journal Childhood Obesity. The pilot study, which paved the way for a new $2.9 million grant to test the intervention on a larger scale through 2019, was implemented with parent-child pairs in a rural clinic in New Braunfels, Texas. Children who participated were Hispanic, ages 5-14, and obese/overweight. “Comprehensive behavioral programs have been shown to help these children improve their weight status. However, more efficient interventions that can be done in primary care clinics must be developed for ...
Research shows that children who consume too many sugary drinks risk developing diseases related to unhealthy weight. Health leaders, school officials, and parents in one community in California worked to create a plan to bump sugary drinks out of early-childcare centers and help kids fall in love with water at a young age.
The Issue of Unhealthy Food and Drink
Awareness: More than 44% of children overall in Madera County, Calif., are overweight or obese. Rates are higher for certain groups. Public health groups across California are recognizing these issues and working to reduce them. CA4Health, directed by the Public Health Institute (PHI) in California, is a statewide healthy-living grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention covering rural and small California ...
Residents living in the small rural community of Earlimart, Calif., lacked outdoor spaces for the physical activity they needed to develop and maintain healthy lifestyles and weights.
The Earlimart School District’s superintendent responded to this need by trying an experiment. She had the custodial staff at one school leave the school gate open. Word got around that the school’s gate had been left open—soon the school’s field was filled with local residents.
This experiment ultimately led to a change in the school district’s rule, which allows Tulare county residents from non-affiliated groups to use the school yard at Earlimart Middle School.
The story does not end here; once residents realized the difference a place to play could make in improving the health of the ...
