As of December 31, 2016, 8.8 million Americans had signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov since open enrollment began on November 1, 2016. This is up from the 8.6 million during Open Enrollment in 2015. Latinos have benefitted more than just about any other racial or ethnic group since the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Over 4.2 million Latinos (ages 18-64) have gained health insurance coverage, lowering the uninsured rate among Latinos by 7.7%. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get involved. “With 8.8 million Americans signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov, more than last year at this time, it is clear that Americans want ...
Many Latinos struggle with cultural, language, and other barriers to healthcare, which is why they face disproportionate rates of diabetes, obesity, certain cancers, and other issues. The good news: Promotores are an emerging solution. Promotores, also called community health workers, patient navigators or health advocates, increasingly play an important role in promoting community-based health education and prevention in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate for Latinos. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, to tweet how to utilize, train, and incorporate more promotores for Latinos: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “The Power of Promotores”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag ...
One of the main ways that scientists measure the overall health and well-being of a nation is by tracking the rate at which its citizens die and how long they are expected to live. For the first time in over 20 years, the U.S. has seen a drop in overall life expectancy. “This is a big deal,” said Philip Morgan, a demographer at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in an interview with NPR. “There’s not a better indicator of well-being than life expectancy. The fact that it is leveling off in the U.S. is a striking finding.” Latinos are the nation’s largest racial and ethnic minority group. As a population they are expected to grow from 1 in 6 people today to 1 in 4 by 2035 and 1 in 3 by 2060. As Latinos are becoming a growing “force” in all facets of life, ...
Although she wasn’t allowed to speak Spanish growing up, Zandra Perez’s grandmother made sure she knew her roots by helping her become bilingual. Perez also draws on her faith and believes in the value of all lives. As such, Perez is working hard as a nurse to provide quality care for underserved Latinos. She earned her nursing degree from the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and is currently one of two educators working to recruit rural area clinics to participate in eradicating tuberculosis by screening and treating for latent tuberculosis. Perez hopes to educate her patients on the importance of health screenings and preventative care. So she applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which recruits 25 master’s-level students ...
While the term “child care desert” isn’t widely known, for many Latino families, the ramifications that stem from this lack of affordable, high-quality child care are fast becoming a major concern. A child care desert refers to an area with at least 30 children under the age of 5 with either no child care centers or there were “more than three times as many children under age 5” as there were spaces in centers, the Center for American Progress (CAP) reports. For working parents, finding quality and affordable child care can already be a daunting task; however, for those families living in rural areas, the problem becomes disproportionately worse. The CAP recently released a report examining the location of child care centers across eight states, which made up 20% of the ...
Mental health inequities are a key problem that many Latinos face in their overall health care. In California (38.18% Latino population), steps have been taken to help alleviate some of these problems with the passing of a new law that will take effect on January 1, 2017. In past years, many health centers in rural parts of the state were unable to bill Medi-Cal, the government health program for low-income Californians, for services; the new law reverses that decision. Without proper treatment, mental health conditions can worsen and make day-to-day life hard. Latinos are less likely to seek mental health treatment. A 2001 Surgeon General’s report found that only 20% of Latinos with symptoms of a psychological disorder talk to a doctor about their concerns. Only 10% contact a mental ...
Despite historic reductions reported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are still over 42 million people in the country who are classified as food insecure. Of this number, over 13 million were children. Latinos, single-parent households, and households in rural communities are among those with the highest rates of food insecurity, the Huffington Post reports. The USDA defines food insecurity as those households that are “uncertain of having, or are unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all their members.” This situation can be due to a variety of reasons, including having insufficient money or resources to obtain food, such as a loss of income or medical hardships. Households with children are disproportionately affected by food ...
A new bill supporting urban agriculture in Michigan (5% Latino) will open up doors for new economic opportunities and create new ways to increase access to healthy foods. The Urban Agriculture Acto of 2016, announced by Michigan Senator Stabenow will allow more support for urban farmers with new financial tools, support for research, and allow for healthy food to be grown in community gardens and neighborhood farms. “Urban agriculture is steadily growing in cities and towns across Michigan and across our country, creating new economic opportunities and safer, healthier environments,” Senator Stabenow told the local press. “The Urban Agriculture Act will continue this momentum by helping urban farmers get started or expand their business, so they can sell more products and ...
In the rural areas of the western United States, a growing population is becoming more and more vulnerable due to an increasing lack of quality healthcare. The elderly, disabled, and uninsured (Latinos represent the largest uninsured population in the U.S.) in these areas are facing a growing crisis. These individuals are farther from healthcare and are often more vulnerable during emergencies, such as heart attacks, severe lacerations, or strokes, reported High Country News.
// Delta County in western Colorado (14.45% Latino population) is an example cited of an area with serious problems. Since 2010, the number of residents aged 65 or older has jumped 19%; however the patient-to-doctor ratio is more than 1,300 to one. In extreme examples, some Western counties have had their ...
