By Yvette Pavon
San Antonio Cancer Survivor At the age of 42, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was found after my very first mammogram. Never did I think that a check up that I had scheduled only because it was something that women did when they got older, would discover I had cancer. I had no symptoms. When my gynecologist shared the news with me in her office, I think I was in complete denial. I mean I went for this mammogram on my own free will, not because of my doctor's concern. I remember going to dinner that night with my father, stepmother, and newly boyfriend. I wasn't scared when talking about it. I knew letting my mind run wild would not help, so I talked to God that night. "God, please give me the strength and courage that I need to get through ...
Last month, the FDA and health experts met to review renewed safety concerns about long-term side effects─even cancer─caused by breast augmentation. Women across the U.S. have spoken up about health complications that they believe were caused by their breast implants. Health professionals, too, are concerned about the growing number of people affected. Latinas get implants more than any other minority group. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research in Washington, D.C., analyzed past breast augmentation studies and spoke at the FDA’s conference on her findings. “Implants are not so innocent as presented,” Dr. Howard Amital, an Israeli rheumatologist who has studied this issue, told the New York Times. “There is a reason for concern. There ...
We already know that implicit bias harms quality of life for Latinos and other minorities. Implicit bias is the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously. This bias can affect relationships from the doctor's office to the workplace. The good news? Many companies and organizations are making an effort to create change with implicit bias training! But what exactly does this training entail? Does it work?
What is Implicit Bias Training?
Implicit bias training, also called unconscious bias training, is gaining popularity in business world. This training teaches employees to be aware of their ingrained biases as well as strategies for blunting the effects of those biases, reports The Washington Post. “I think this is the ...
Latinos historically face discrimination in the hiring and promotion processes. A few years ago, a Harvard study found that one-third of Latinos say they were discriminated against when applying for jobs (33%) or when being paid equally or considered for promotions (32%). Now a recent report says discrimination extends to military promotions.
Latinos Rarely Promoted to High Military Ranks
Latinos have a “proud and indeed enviable” record of military service. Today, the Latino share of the active-duty force has continued to rise. In 2015, 12% of all active-duty personnel were Latino, up from 9% in 2004, according to Pew Research. But between 1995 and 2016, only one Latino had become a three-star general, even as the number of active-duty Latino officers more than doubled, ...
Children across the U.S. acquire and education through public school — they also receive lead exposure, according to new research. At least 22 states failed to protect students from water contamination, according to a study conducted by the Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund. Worse, only two of the 32 tested states received a B rating. Not one state made an A. Schools in states with large Latino populations also fared poorly. “It's concerning,” Julie Ma, a mother in Boston (19.4% Latino) who prepares water bottles for her kids every day, told CBS. “I really would like to get the lead out of the water supply as fast as possible for the students ... Many schools don't even know if they have it and haven't been able to make those ...
Implicit bias, also known as unconscious bias, occurs when stereotypes influence automatic brain processing. We can be susceptible to inherent bias and not even know it. Fortunately, you can find out if you have such leanings.
Implicit Bias Testing
Harvard’s Project Implicit developed The Implicit Association Test (IAT). The test, created 20 years ago, measures social attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to realize. The various implicit bias assessments focus on gender, race, skin color, weight, and more. There is no Hispanic/Latino-focused test, though. Bias tests can expose one's implicit attitudes, of which they are unaware. For example, you may believe women and men should be equally associated with careers in scientific fields. Yet, your ...
Health equity is when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to live their healthiest life possible. Yet health inequity remains. Latinos, for example, face discriminatory policies and barriers to healthcare, social support, healthy food, and more. That's why we're proud to share A Blueprint for Changemakers: Achieving Health Equity Through Law & Policy, a new report from ChangeLab Solutions and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that can help communities advance a local agenda to ensure health equity for everyone. The Blueprint report offers key policies and legal strategies on five underlying realities behind health inequity:
1. Reduce Structural Discrimination
Historic oppression, segregation, and bias create health inequity. Among Latinos, implicit bias impacts ...
Schools today are under-resourced, and students are overcriminalized, particularly children of color and those with disabilities, according to a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education now requires every public school to report the number of social workers, nurses, and psychologists employed. The ACLU analysis of the federal data provides a state-level, student-to-staff ratio for each position as well as a review of law enforcement presence in schools, student arrests, and referrals. The real crisis of schools isn’t violence, but a widespread failure to hire enough support staff that can meet students’ mental health needs, according to the report. The study uses data from the 2015-16 academic year, ...
Most people think they have no bias toward other people. But we all have preconceived notions or stereotypes that—beyond our control—affect our understanding, actions, and decisions about others. This is what experts call "implicit bias." Implicit bias can be good or bad. Either way, preference has enormous implications for the health of Latinos and all communities in our society.
What Is Implicit Bias?
Implicit bias is defined as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously, according to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State University. This kind of bias happens when stereotypes influence your brain processing. Studies show that your mind decides up to 10 seconds before you realize ...
