Illicit drug use continues to be a pervasive problem in the US. Use of illicit drugs can have disastrous health consequences, especially for disadvantaged populations like Latinos, and can lead to premature death. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released its annual report on the state of mental health and substance use in the US. Based on results from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States covers mental health and substance use, including tobacco, illicit drugs, and more. So far, we have covered alcohol, tobacco and vaping, and marijuana use among Latinos. In the next part of our series, we’re going to explore the report and find out how using illicit ...
Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for many diseases, including cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Physical inactivity has a 25.3% prevalence in the US, where about 60% of adults say they are physically inactive as of 2020, according to the CDC. That’s why the CDC launched a campaign to get people moving. Active People, Healthy Nation is striving to help 27 million Americans be more physically active by 2027 and getting 10 million adults and 2 million young people to meet the minimum aerobic physical activity guideline. Salud America! is stepping up to help by partnering with the initiative's Moving Matters campaign to get the word out. Let’s dig into some of the short-term and long-term benefits of regular physical ...
Health literacy is defined by the CDC as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” In today’s world, health literacy is crucial for community members and health professionals, alike, to make everyday decisions and achieve health equity. However, many underserved and racial/ethnic communities around the country face barriers to health equity including access to health care, financial instability, and housing/transportation insecurity endangering their health. That is why Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, and Melanie Stone, DrPH (c), MPH, MEd are helping build Health Confianza – a partnership between UT Health San Antonio, The University of Texas San ...
As COVID-19 exposed cracks in our healthcare system and racial/ethnic health inequities, community health workers rose to the challenge to educate communities on virus prevention, dispel misinformation, and advocate for the vaccine. Community health workers – called promotoras in Latino communities – are non-medical public health workers who connect people to healthcare and social services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is seeking public comments on the use of community health workers to increase “cultural competency in educational campaigns on public health vaccines and prevention, including but not limited to influenza and COVID-19.” Submit this Salud America! model comment to tell HHS about the importance ...
Latinos make up 18% of the American workforce and are the fastest growing working population in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, there is a lack of Latino representation in corporate leadership, and few occupy high paying jobs in lucrative industries like engineering, technology, and science.
Due to systemic inequities stemming from generations of racism and oppression, many Latinos work labor-intensive jobs in industries such as agriculture, building and ground maintenance, and construction.
These jobs are more physically demanding, putting stress on the body, and are performed outdoors, where workers are exposed to the elements and pollution.
Working these jobs can endanger the health and safety of employees.
Latino workers die on the job more than ...
It wasn’t too long ago that COVID-19 threw life into chaos.
Businesses shut their doors. Food and supplies ran low. We were separated from our loved ones and trapped indoors. Hospitals dealt with rising demand. Lives were lost.
Years have passed since the pandemic and we’ve tried to distance ourselves from a time when distillers halted production to make hand sanitizer, grocery stores had lanes, and smiles were hidden behind masks.
However, some are still living with a constant reminder of that time.
For those with Long COVID-19, time hasn’t healed the wounds of the past as they still try to recover from the physical, mental, and emotional traumas of the condition.
That’s why Health Confianza — a Bexar County health literacy initiative housed at The University of Texas ...
COVID-19 “completely erased the mortality advantage” that the Latino population had compared to the White population, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Let’s dive into the new data on Latino mortality.
What Is Excess Mortality?
The Census Bureau refers to excess mortality as deaths from any cause above what is expected from recent mortality trends. Excess mortality is calculated as the difference between the actual mortality rate and the mortality rate expected to see in the hypothetical absence of the COVID-19 pandemic. “An additional 573,000 people died in the United States during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic but ‘excess mortality’ at the national level masks substantial variations by state, age, sex, and race and ethnicity,” ...
Obesity Care Week 2024 (#ObesityCareWeek) is here! From March 4-8, 2024, Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias, as well as raise awareness, educate and advocate for a better world for people living with obesity. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2024. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an Obesity Care Week Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized. Those impacted struggle to receive any care in many cases, let alone adequate care," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher. Salud America! research has found that U.S. Latinos face ...
The time is now to secure medical insurance through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). After three years of automatic renewal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, states went back to screening for eligibility in early 2023. As a result, an estimated 15 million people, including 4.6 million Latinos, could lose their medical coverage through these programs over the next few months, depending on what state you live in. To address this, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a new online resource to help people navigate the renewal and/or healthcare transition processes. “Nobody who is eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program should be disenrolled simply because they didn’t have enough ...