In Latino culture, family is the heart and children are expected to be caregivers for their aging parents. 1 in every 3 U.S. Latino households has at least one family caregiver. These Latino caregivers—mainly women in their 40s—juggle multiple jobs or leave the workforce entirely to enter the respectable but high-stress role of taking care of aging family members, who are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and other age-related mental health issues. Latino caregivers of Alzheimer’s Disease patients deal with high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, studies show. "Too often, Latino caregivers do not know where to turn for guidance, relief, and support for their caregiving activities," according to a recent report from the National Hispanic ...
Latinos and blacks are less likely than whites to get the mental health services they need, and more likely to miss work as a result, according to a new study. The study, published by California-based Rand Corporation, found a relationship between untreated mental health problems and multiple absences from work. This has a big economic toll on Latino and black individuals and families, as multiple work absences usually mean lost pay or even lost jobs, reports California Healthline. The data shows that mental health problems caused 12% of blacks and 9.4% of Latino to miss four or more days of work a year, both higher rates than whites (7.9%). “This could have important repercussions for black [and Latino] Californians’ ability to earn income and stay employed in the face of ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, a top cancer health disparities researcher and director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, today was named one of 12 new "Komen Scholars" by Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest non-profit funder of breast cancer research. Komen Scholars are an advisory group of distinguished leaders in breast cancer research and advocacy. Each scholar—chosen for their knowledge, leadership, and contributions to breast cancer research—will help guide Komen’s $956 million research program, present at national meetings, and serve as experts and advocates for Komen’s nationwide network of affiliates and in communities around the globe. Ramirez, as part of being named a Komen Scholar, will receive $600,000 over three years to study Latina breast cancer. She ...
Latinos are sorely underrepresented in clinical research and the healthcare workforce, said a minority health leader. Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable, director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, called this issue a "crisis" during the recent National Hispanic Medical Association conference in March 2018, Medpage Today reports. He also covered these issues at UT Health San Antonio's Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos in February 2018.
Latinos & Clinical Research
Latinos face many health disparities in cancer. They tend to have low access to healthy food, physical activity, and social support services, according to Salud America! research. Yet they don't often join clinical trials, Perez-Stable said. "There hasn't been a single [prostate] ...
Oprah Winfrey is raising awareness about childhood trauma and the need for trauma-informed care. Childhood trauma—like abuse, neglect, and poverty—changes a child's brain, body and behavior. Behavior is often the first "red flag" of trauma. But too often caregivers, teachers, and law officers misinterpret that red flag as "bad behavior" that needs "fixing." They are rarely trained on the science of childhood trauma and how it affects Latino and all children. That is why Oprah Winfrey returned the city where she grew up facing poverty, sexual abuse and other negative experiences to explore the science of childhood trauma on 60 Minutes with trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry.
Science Behind Adverse Childhood Experiences
What started as inquiry into high patient drop-out rates ...
Discrimination. Micro-aggressions. Going back to college with kids. With a mother who overcame these hurdles as an immigrant to the U.S. from Honduras, Alejandra Mendez learned resilience. Now Mendez always looks for opportunities for success, rather than possible barriers. Her optimism has enabled her to help people similar to her mother, conducting research on the impact of racial discrimination, and volunteering to help uninsured clinic patients. Mendez recently earned her master’s degree in public health in health behavior and health education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Under the guidance of her preceptor, Mendez conducted research on how racial discrimination affects health throughout the life course and adverse birth outcomes. Prior to her ...
Did you know Latino kids are twice as likely to die from asthma than their peers? More than 1 in 10 U.S. Latino kids have been told they have asthma. These kids struggle with this incurable lung disease that causes recurring periods of wheezing, chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath, and can result in missed days of school or emotional and physical stress. Why is this? Poverty plays a big role, but it's more than that, said Genny Carrillo of Texas A&M, who studies the disease. "Possibly due to more limited access to health insurance and health care providers and higher presence of environmental triggers such as pollution, dust and mold," Carrillo said. There is good news. A person with asthma can live and sleep without interruptions with proper ...
Latino families are often lack economic support and healthcare they need, which jeopardizes their kids' academic, social, and physical development, according to Salud America! research. But two San Antonio organizations may have the solution. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas is giving $175,000 to HASA—the health information exchange for San Antonio and other parts of the state—to expand their services by adding socioeconomic factors like housing, access to healthy food, and more social issues to patient's medical records, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. What does that mean? It means that healthcare providers will get a better look at a patients' health history, including clinical, social and behavioral risk. This will arm doctors with ...
Update: In December 2018, Healthy Equity Award prize winners were selected! Winners include Janeth Tapia of North Carolina Farmworkers Project in Benson, N.C., which provides access to affordable, quality health care for a population that is often politically marginalized and isolated Tapia educates health care providers about the hazards that farm workers face, and she helps farm workers take charge of and advocate for their own health. The program provides transportation and volunteer translators for medical visits, and it has worked for extended clinical hours so farmworkers can get care at night or on weekends. Have you worked hard to improve access to quality care, education, or the environment for Latinos or other minorities? Then you could win the Health Equity ...
