There is a shortage of mental health professionals in the United States. This situation is more severe for Latino and other minorities, who face barriers of language and culture that can make it hard to seek and get help, Pew Charitable Trusts reports. Take, for instance, Ana Paula Guerrero of Aurora, Ill. Guerrero says it makes it easier and better for her therapy if she doesn't have to translate her emotions from her native Spanish to her adopted English. "When I am talking about certain feelings in Spanish, it's (about) vocabulary and being able to gather the words to express yourself," Guerrero told the Daily Herald of Illinois for a report on language barriers to mental health care. "It's not the feeling itself, but the ability to communicate what you are ...
Attaining an education is one of the key social determinants of health. Education impacts future economic well-being, job growth, and your long-term physical and mental health. Latinos have made great strides in education in the last decade. As of recent reports, the rate of Latino high school dropouts is at an all-time low while rates of graduation are at all-time highs. Latinos are also enrolling in more two- and four-year colleges and universities. While things are looking up, there is still a significant gap in educational attainment between Latinos and other racial and ethnic groups. In order to make an impact on this gap, more colleges and universities are addressing this problem in creative and “outside-the-box” manners. In order to reduce health disparities, it is ...
For 30 years, a group of small community health centers have provided primary healthcare to residents in Maricopa County, Ariz. (30% Latino population). A few years ago, center leaders Dr. Avein Saaty Tafoya and Lisa Blue recognized that local residents continued to face cultural, language, financial, and other barriers to proper comprehensive healthcare. They felt compelled to change the entire approach of their centers. Adelante Healthcare began to seek grants and partnerships to add personnel to expand beyond their historical focus on primary care. Today their new team—primary care physicians, specialists, bilingual health coaches, mental and behavioral health social workers, and others who connect families to insurance, health education, and more—provides more ...
A lack of access to quality healthcare coverage has been one of the most persistent causes of health inequity for many Latino families. Despite significant gains made under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Latinos still remain the largest uninsured population in the country. In May 2016, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) of California (38.39% Latino population) implemented new legislation that allows for all children in the state under the age of 19 to be eligible for full Medi-Cal benefits. Previously, undocumented children would have only received emergency care benefits through Medi-Cal and would not have had access to dental or mental health care. From May through April of 2017, 189,434 undocumented children had been signed up for the “Medi-Cal for All Children” ...
Bullying is defined by stopbullying.gov as “unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance”. In grades 6-12, 28% of students experienced bullying and approximately 30% of kids admit to bullying others. Most bullying occurs in school, although this can also happen on the internet and through cell phones. This is called cyberbullying. Rates of cyberbullying have nearly doubled over the past ten years from 18% in 2007 to 34% in 2016 as more kids have access to cell phones and social media. Kids who are bullied can experience physical, mental, and educational problems. Physical problems such as headaches, muscle pain, upset stomach, changes in weight, and decreased ability to fight infections are associated with the ...
In order to bring awareness on mental health and support "the whole person" including the emotional, mental and physical side of health, Madison YMCA is sponsoring "The Mind Matters 5K" on May 17th, 2017. The theme for the race is "Mentally Healthy One Stride at a Time", and proceeds from the race will go to benefit the Madison Area's YMCA's programs. YMCA President and CEO Diane Mann told local news Madison Eagle explained that the purpose behind the annual event is to help fund families and children to enjoy and participate in YMCA membership, programming, and wellness services. "As a cause-driven charitable organization, the Madison Area YMCA is dedicated to nurturing the potential of every child and teen, and improving the community’s health and well-being and 'giving ...
Did you know air pollution is the world’s biggest environmental health threat? Air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths a year, according to WHO data. It is linked to heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, and even diabetes in kids. Sadly, Latinos breathe 38% more polluted air than whites. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, to tweet about the latest strategies to improve air quality for Latinos and all people, and help celebrate World Asthma Day (May 2, 2017) and National Air Quality Week (May 1-5, 2017)! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Latinos and the Crisis of Air Quality”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, May 2, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: Voces Verdes (@VocesVerdes), The ...
As part of National Minority Health Month 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) released two reports detailing the type of care received by individuals as part of Medicare Advantage (MA). “This is the first time that CMS has released Medicare Advantage data on racial and ethnic disparities in care separately for women and men,” said Dr. Cara James, Director of the CMS Office of Minority Health in a news release. “Showing the data this way helps us to understand the intersection between a person’s race, ethnicity, and gender and their health care.” One report focuses on gender and revealed “sizable differences” (both positive and negative) in the quality of treatment for certain conditions among MA ...
More Americans than ever before are stressed, depressed, and coping with anxiety on a regular basis. According to a new study, an estimated 8.3 million adults in the U.S. (close to 3.5%) suffer from serious psychological distress. What’s worse, many are unable to get the help they need to either treat there conditions or even get a diagnosis. In a separate report, the American Psychological Association (APA) found disparities in their recent Stress in America survey, noting that Latinos in particular suffer from the highest levels of stress. “Latinos reported the highest stress across four major sources of stress including money, employment, family responsibilities and health concerns,” the survey said. From the survey, 1 in 5 Latinos report never having engaged in any ...
