The low number of Latinos and other men of color graduating and entering the health care professions is a national crisis, according to a new consensus statement led by the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP). The statement calls on local and national educational, health care, governmental, and community leaders to address this issue. “A continued lack of awareness, marginalization and unconscious bias has led this issue to reach crisis proportions,” according to a FASHP statement. “This crisis is reflected in absolute numbers in academic institutions, in the representation of health professionals, in the elevation to leadership positions, and in health outcomes across the health professions.” Let’s dive deeper into this ...
UT Health San Antonio and UTHealth Houston are looking for healthy Latinos to join their “Healthy Control Study” to help uncover new ways to treat disease. “Controls” are healthy people who donate a biospecimen – such as blood, saliva, or tissue – that researchers can use to compare to people of a similar age and race/ethnicity who also have cancer, Alzheimer’s, or other health conditions. A half-hour appointment with a one-time blood draw is all that’s needed for the new UT Health San Antonio and UTHealth Houston study. “You don’t have to be sick to help advance medical research. Researchers need information from healthy people to compare with people who have a disease so they can learn more about disease and develop new treatments,” said Dr. Amelie ...
65% of Americans 21 years of age and older say they are not up to date with one or more routine cancer screenings, according to a survey from the Prevent Cancer Foundation. With this in mind, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has launched the Early Detection = Better Outcomes bilingual campaign to educate and encourage Americans to schedule routine cancer screening appointments. “When people learn the benefits of early detection, they are much more likely to talk to their doctors and get screened to check their health,” said Jody Hoyos, CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, in a press release. “Routine screenings should be part of your wellness routine, just like eating healthy, exercising and taking care of your mental health.” Let us dive into what this campaign ...
For this year’s Healthy Vision Month, the National Eye Institute (NEI) is highlighting the theme of “Healthy Vision: A Family Focus” (“Visión saludable: ojos sanos para su familia”). To ensure that everyone gets important eye health information, the NEI is sharing its helpful resources in Spanish – made through transcreation. Transcreation is the process of taking a concept in one language and completely recreating it in another language, adjusting the literal translation to align with the cultural context of the intended audience. “A successfully transcreated message (either written or visual) evokes the same emotions and carries the same implications in the target language as it does in the source language, but in a way that resonates with the target ...
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease that usually affects young adults of various races/ethnicities, including Latinos. However, compared to white people, there is less understanding of how the disease impacts the Latino community. Let’s explore more about MS, why less is known about MS in Latinos, and how Latinos can gain equal access to MS care.
What Causes MS?
Normally, our body’s immune system protects us from getting sick. But sometimes, our immune system can mistakenly attack parts of our own body. In MS, the immune system attacks myelin, a substance that coats nerve fibers, according to the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke. Myelin can be found in our body’s central nervous system, which includes the brain, optic ...
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Project Firstline program offers training and educational resources on various infection control topics, including risk recognition and infection control basics related to COVID-19. These training and educational resources are designed for all healthcare workers, no matter their role or educational background. Join us as Salud America! explores Project Firstline’s interactive infection control resources for healthcare workers through a three-part series on, “What’s Wrong with This Picture?” Part 1 tackled the emergency room. Part 2 focused on the nurse’s station. Today, we will address an outpatient exam room.
Can You Recognize Infection Control Risks?
Healthcare workers must be aware of where germs ...
The CDC recently announced updated COVID-19 vaccination recommendations. The update allows people ages 65 and older or immunocompromised to get an additional updated bivalent vaccine dose at least four months after their initial bivalent dose. “If you’re in this group and have questions about getting an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose, you should consult your healthcare provider,” according to Public Health Communications Collaborative. Read more about the updated vaccine recommendations and why they matter for Latinos.
The Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Other changes made by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices include: Monovalent (original) mRNA COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for use in the United States.
CDC ...
It’s been nine months since President Biden announced his student loan forgiveness plan, and a lot has happened since. Whether you’re for or against the forgiveness, information on the plan’s status can be confusing and overwhelming. So, here’s a simplified summary of where our nation stands on student loan forgiveness.
Have Any Loans Been Forgiven?
So far, only targeted groups have benefitted from loan forgiveness. The billions of dollars awarded to these groups account for just 1% of all federal student loan debt. Most borrowers have yet to benefit from forgiveness, and the current student loan debt amount sits at $1.7 trillion.
What’s the Hold Up with Student Loan Forgiveness?
Pushback on the loan forgiveness plan has occurred across the nation in many states, ...
Data can drive action for healthy change. But what if we don’t have enough data? Or the right data? Or equitable data? Unfortunately, even with more health reports and more health dashboards than ever before, we still face inconsistent and incomplete data. We are lacking sufficient data – especially data disaggregated by race/ethnicity – on social determinants of health, firearm violence, traffic crashes, and adverse childhood experiences. Insufficient data happens for many reasons. Limited funding, limited staff, uncertain methods, logistical challenges, entrenched practices, inadequate analysis, and inadequate or non-uniform reporting after data collection are occurring at the local, state, and federal levels. Let’s explore the most critical missing data and how ...
