Latinos make up almost 19% of the total US population, but account for only 6% of US physicians. This lack of Latino representation in medicine negatively affects Latino patient health. For example, Latinos may be less likely to get the care they need due to physician implicit bias and language and cultural barriers. Studies also show that a lack of diversity in healthcare workers contributes to heath inequities, such as higher rates of maternal health issues in Latinas and worse health outcomes for Latino cancer patients, compared to their white counterparts. To boost diversity, Drs. Michael Galvez and Cesar Padilla are leading the effort to celebrate Oct. 1, 2022, as National Latino/a Physician’s Day. “We need more Latino and Latinas in medicine that are able to take ...
Nurses are lifelines for mothers-to-be, helping recognize complications early during labor and delivery. Maternal health for Latinas could improve even further with a more diverse nurse workforce, according to a new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Researchers found that Latinas who gave birth in states with the highest proportion of minority nurses experienced a 31% reduced risk of severe adverse maternal health outcomes, including eclampsia, blood transfusion, hysterectomy, or intensive care unit admission. Why might this be? Researchers believe that if the nurse workforce more closely resembled the diversity of patients, there could be a reduction in provider implicit bias, or subconscious preferences for white patients over those of color. “A ...
Two more cities have prohibited smoking inside apartment units. On April 26, 2022, Riverside, Calif., city leaders preliminarily approved a ban on smoking in multifamily-housing rental complexes, including individual apartment homes and attached balconies and patios. Latino tenants helped drive the measure. On May 10, 2022, Vallejo, Calif., city leaders banned smoking in multi-unit residences. Bans like these—to reduce exposure to harmful secondhand smoke among apartment and condo tenants—are on the rise. "Upon adoption, Riverside would join at least 167 California cities and counties that have enacted ordinances to restrict smoking in multifamily housing complexes, said Karina Funez, advocacy policy manager for the American Lung Association in California, which has been ...
In late 2020, public health and racial justice advocates started meeting monthly to understand and support the movement to declare racism a public health crisis. They shared resources, hosted webinars, and led workshops to spur action against racism. Now, these advocates have formally become the Collaborative for Anti-Racism and Equity (CARE), a group of partner organizations including Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio CARE has launched a website to streamline access to tools and information, help people make connections, and inform solutions to advance health and racial equity. “The website is a place where those working in health equity, racial equity, and anti-racism can get access to some important resources to inform their work, if they are just getting started in ...
Next year in New Orleans, kids won’t be able to order a Coke off the kids menu in restaurants. On Jan. 6, the New Orleans City Council unanimously passed an ordinance that will require restaurants to serve water, milk, or fruit juice with kids meals, according to New Orleans Public Radio. While the ordinance faced some pushback from the soft drink beverage industry, advocates believe this new rule will make a difference in preventing childhood obesity.
What Does the Ordinance Say about Soft Drinks on Kids Menus?
The city health department pitched the ordinance to remove soft drinks and make healthier options as the default beverages on kids menus. New Orleans City Councilmember Cyndi Nguyen put it to a vote. “This is really about helping our young people to stay healthy, ...
Inadequate transportation can hurt a person’s social, economic, and health outcomes. But planners and policymakers have not had a good tool to measure transportation insecurity—a condition in which one is unable to regularly move from place to place in a safe or timely manner due to the absence of the material, economic, or social resources needed for transportation. So, in 2018, researchers from University of Michigan and others created a tool to explore transportation security modeled after the Food Security Index and based on interviews with families living in poverty. They call it the Transportation Security Index. In 2021, they validated the 16-question index using a nationally representative sample. “We hope [the Transportation Security Index 16] will be adopted ...
Education is critical in childhood development, yet Latino kids across the U.S. face systemic injustices in their schools and communities. Whether it is living in child care deserts, language issues and immigrant status, unengaged parents, childhood trauma, discipline, segregated school districts, and a lack of state funding in—many Latinos are left behind in education compared to their white peers. That’s why the U.S. government is taking action for Latino education, according to a recent executive order signed by President Joe Biden in September 2021. “We must enable Hispanic and Latino students to reach their highest potential through our Nation’s schools and institutions of higher education,” the executive order says. “The Federal Government must also collaborate ...
Lots of small cities in California have taken two big steps to protect youth from smoking addiction and secondhand smoke —banning flavored tobacco products and smoking inside all apartment homes. Now San Jose will become the state’s largest city to take both steps. The San Jose City Council is expected to formally approve the bans during a vote on Oct. 5, according to The Mercury News. “The tobacco industry has a stronghold on our kiddos — enticing them with flavors and leading them to a life of addiction,” Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco, a champion of the proposed ban, said Monday. “Banana split, Kool-aid, Hawaiian punch, gummy bears — all of these e-cigarette flavors may taste like candy but it’s poison to our children.”
San Jose’s New Ban on Smoking ...
Amid the ongoing racial justice movement in the wake of police brutality and the death of George Floyd and others, a rising number of U.S. local leaders are creating resolutions to declare racism a public health crisis. Update 4/5/22: San Antonio, L.A., New York, and Chicago are among 246 cities, counties, and other governmental leaders that have declared racism a public health crisis, as of April 5, 2022, according to Michigan cartographer Alex B. Hill on Twitter. "It's a little thing to declare racism to be a public health crisis, but it's a stake in the sand," said former American Public Health Association (APHA) President Camara Phyllis Jones, Bloomberg reports.
Where Are Resolutions on Racism as a Public Health Crisis Happening?
Over 200 entities, including 19 states, have ...
