Want to address childhood obesity, but don’t know where to start or how to make a change? Start at Salud America! The new website is a first-of-its-kind clearinghouse of resources and stories to promote changes—healthier marketing and improved access to healthy food and physical activity, etc.—for kids in your neighborhood and across the nation. Right now at the site, you can: Find resources to start a change;
Watch and read about real-life “Salud Heroes” of change; and
Become a “Salud Hero” by sharing your own stories. Here are some examples of Salud Heroes who have made healthy community changes: The site was created by Salud America!, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The site was initially part of the Community Commons ...
Commentary by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez San Antonio is what the entire United States will look like in 40 years, some say. That’s good news, but not all good. San Antonio’s large Latino population contributes immeasurably to the uniqueness and vitality of our city, just as the continued growth of the Latino population reflects our nation as a whole. At the same time, some families in our neighborhoods increasingly lack access to the kinds of neighborhood amenities that Americans rely upon to stay healthy, and face some obstacles to good health. These are challenges to health in all cities across the country. Research has found that, some people live in areas with more fast-food restaurants and unhealthy food advertising, and higher consumption of sugary beverages, per capita. ...
Eating the right food can help fight cancer. But what foods are right? Are there such things as healthy—and tasty—traditional dishes? Check out a new bilingual cookbook, Nuestra Cocina Saludable: Recipes from Our Community Kitchen, to guide you and your family to eat healthy and help protect against cancer and other chronic diseases. The cookbook is from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) and the Mays Cancer Center (formerly the Cancer Therapy and Research Center) at UT Health San Antonio. Download the free cookbook in English or Spanish. Inside are 46 recipes for healthy, delicious foods straight from real kitchens in South Texas. The cookbook originated when people from across South Texas shared their mouth-watering recipes—like Aurora Rodriguez of ...
I recently had the privilege of attending and presenting my Susan G. Komen-funded research on boosting breast cancer survivorship through Patient Navigation at the 5th International Cancer Control Congress (ICCC) on Nov. 3-6, 2013, in Lima, Peru. As a member of Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board, I was excited to be among the more than 400 health researchers and community leaders from throughout the world came together for this important meeting. Dr. Simon Sutcliffe of Vancouver, Canada, president of the ICCC and chair of the international steering committee, cited five key drivers for the group: improving human development;
mobilizing a societal response to reduce cancer and other non-communicable diseases;
improving population health;
improving cancer treatment, ...
Latinas who have an abnormal mammogram result take 33 days longer to reach definitive diagnosis of breast cancer than non-Hispanic white women, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Such a time delay can have a critical impact on tumor size, stage at diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and survival of subsequent breast cancer. For this study, published online in SpringerPlus in March 2013, IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción program to evaluate the differences in time to diagnosis of breast cancer among 186 Latinas and 74 non-Hispanic whites who received an abnormal mammogram result in six U.S. cities. Analysis showed that Latinas’ ...
Extra support for patients, called “patient navigation,” can lead to faster diagnosis for women after an abnormal mammogram result, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio. The study, published this week by the journal Cancer, also suggests that patient navigation should be carefully targeted to have the greatest impact on eventual health outcomes. IHPR researchers worked with partners in the federally funded Redes En Acción program to examine the experiences of 425 Latinas in six cities nationwide. Each woman had received an abnormal result in initial breast cancer screening and was referred for further evaluation. About half of the women received help from trained patient navigators, who provided culturally ...
Many of America's children struggle with obesity. That’s why we're excited to announce that Salud America! has received a two-year, $2.1 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) for its ongoing pursuit of healthy changes to address epidemic of childhood obesity across the nation. Salud America! will expand its 2,000-member network and develop a digital infrastructure to support, inform, and empower healthy changes. This digital infrastructure will create content and communications on research, training, and education on childhood obesity to empower people to start or support healthy changes. Please join the network here. “In the midst of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, we’re extremely pleased that RWJF is supporting our unprecedented ...
Armida Flores was a professional abuela—babysitting her granddaughters, volunteering at their schools, etc.—until they moved to California a few years ago. Then Flores wasn’t sure what to do with her newfound spare time. So the Mexico native, who was 30 years removed from school, didn’t know much English and had no career training, decided to enroll in bilingual nursing classes at Palo Alto College in San Antonio and simultaneously earned her GED in Spanish in 2008. She also took beginner and advanced English to polish her language skills, and in May 2012 earned an associate’s degree in social work, psychology and Spanish. “The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was to accept that I am not too old to start a new process in my life,” said Flores. “Now that I ...
