Across the board, Latinos are underrepresented in clinical research. Without adequate Latino and minority representation in clinical trials, researchers cannot find differential effects among groups nor advance public health and medicine. To address this, researchers across the country, like those at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, are creating educational interventions to recruit certain racial/ethnic groups in diseases like Alzheimer's that are on the rise among minorities. "Studies should represent the demographics of the country," Dr. Jonca Bull, an assistant commissioner on minority health at the Food and Drug Administration, said in a recent statement. "We need to close that gap so we can better ...
As we reach the seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers are pointing to a new cause in an uptick of cases: pandemic fatigue. “Pandemic fatigue refers to feeling overwhelmed with still having to maintain a state of constant vigilance, in this case six months after the pandemic started, and a weariness to abide by restrictions,” according to Gavi Vaccine Alliance. Understandably, people are tired of the daily inconveniences caused by avoiding the COVID-19 virus and want their lives to return to normal. However, if we fall complacent and begin disregarding guidance from public health officials, we take part in moral disengagement and it becomes more difficult for our communities to put an end to COVID-19. When we disengage morally from safety and virus prevention, ...
The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are a wonderful time to express your gratitude and share food with the people you love most in this world. However, the 2020 hits just keep coming. Family gatherings are still not safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC discourages in-person family gatherings for the holidays. Instead, you can safely deliver/swap traditional dishes to nearby familia, ship gifts, and use a video conference to stay connected. “It is the holidays, but it’s also a global pandemic. Safety has to be a priority over tradition,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino health equity program at UT Health San Antonio. See our “Juntos, We Can Stop COVID-19” bilingual campaign to encourage you─juntos/together─ to do ...
How can you teach your kids or students the importance of voting? First, be a role model by voting in upcoming local, congressional, and presidential elections. Second, print and give kids one of these new coloring sheets in English and Spanish from MomsRising that teach our littlest learners about voting and why it matters. The coloring sheets show a child dressed as a superhero. Next to the superhero is the phrase: "Be a Voter. Raise a Voter. / Conviértete en Votante. Cría un Votante." "This is a great opportunity for families to talk together about what voting is, why it matters, and build a culture of civic engagement from the very beginning," said Karen Showalter, senior campaign director for MomsRising.
Other Ways to Get Kids Involved
MomsRising also has these ...
Día de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, is the annual holiday where we honor our loved ones who have passed away. This year, Día de los Muertos is celebrated Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. During Día de los Muertos, Latino families gather to remember relatives who have died and often honor their memory by preparing the relative’s favorite foods and building ofrendas, or alters, decorated with candles, flowers, and photographs of those who passed. While a typical Día de Los Muertos celebration calls for parades with large gatherings of singing and dancing, this year it will look different.
Latinos and COVID-19
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic means many cancelled celebrations or virtual gatherings. But it also means a greater loss in the Latino community. The COVID-19 ...
In spite of the countless burdens of COVID-19 on Latinos, rates of increased household wealth have been on the rise. In fact, 40% of Latinos who do not own a home plan to become homeowners by 2025, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP). This presents a shift, not only in the housing market but in the state of race and class in the U.S., according to Veronica Figueroa, a veteran realtor in Orlando. “In recent years, Latinos have proven to be more confident than ever when it comes to homeownership and entrepreneurship," Figueroa told Click Orlando. "We are also seeing overwhelming confidence in Latino investors who choose to invest in real estate. Latinos are overcoming the stigma of being considered an ...
Smoking kills, and it’s not just lung cancer — but heart disease, too. Smoking, especially those who begin at a young age, seriously increases a person’s risk of cardiovascular issues, including incidences of mortality, according to recent data from the Journal of the American Heart Association. Smokers, especially those who began the habit before adolescence, showed a correlated increase in cardiovascular-related deaths. “Age at starting to smoke is an important, but underappreciated, determinant of adult cardiovascular mortality, and this study indicates that the [roughly] 5 million US smokers who began before age 15 years are at especially high risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease if they do not quit,” the study states. “If the associations between ...
Nearly three-fourths of all coronavirus cases in some of the country’s most critical industries are happening among Latinos, the group already experiencing harsh burdens from the virus. Of the 5,721 workers in food processing, food manufacturing, and agriculture fields who tested positive for COVID-19 early in the outbreak, 72.8% were Latino, according to October 2020 data from the CDC. These numbers shouldn’t come as a total surprise, based on the conditions these laborers face in the workplace, said Dr. S. Patrick Kachur, a population and family health professor at Columbia University. "Workers come and go from the workplace on a daily basis,” Kachur told TODAY Food. “If they are living in communities with widespread transmission, or households with other persons who ...
Breast cancer affects different women differently. That's why the Breast Friends Forever (BFF) support group enables young breast cancer survivors to share their experiences in San Antonio, Texas (64% Latino). Recently, some BFF leaders joined the "Health Conversations with Anna Smith" Podcast. They talked about the need for the group and its origins in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These include: Sandra L. San Miguel, BFF co-founder and program director at the National Cancer Institute; Brenda Garza, BFF co-founder and a survivor; Stanlie Murray, BFF executive director and a survivor; and Erica Ann De Zaiffe, BFF member and a survivor. Listen to the podcast Part 1 and Part 2. "BFF was a pioneer in those days, combining outreach and education activities with ...
