Individual health is influenced by a variety of non-medical factors, like where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age. These conditions are known as Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). To help improve health and wellbeing through SDoH, the White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have released new resources, including the first-ever U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health. “It is clear that the health of our people does not exist in a vacuum, but it is affected by our access to stable housing, healthy food, and clean air to breathe,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “It is crucial for HHS to tackle health care and public health holistically by addressing patients’ social ...
Cancer continues to be a top cause of death for those living in the US, including Latinos, who suffer disproportionate rates of certain cancer types, are diagnosed at later stages, and are more likely to die from the disease. This is because many Latinos and other people of color are face living disparities that impact their access to healthcare, education, quality affordable housing, and more. These factors can establish what kind of healthcare and treatments someone can get. That’s why researchers choose to keep studying the intersection between race/ethnicity and healthcare so that science and medicine can improve cancer outcomes for these individuals and everyone. Here are three cancer studies that focus on racial/ethnic disparities and cancer.
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This content is from the "Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: 2024 Conference Proceedings."
Integrating Clinical and Genomic Data for Tumor Molecular Profiling in Latino Patients with Cancer
Dr. Enrique I. Velazquez-Villarreal is Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Translational Sciences at Beckman Research Institute and the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. Multi-omics and colorectal cancer in Latinos Dr. Velazquez-Villarreal’s presentation discussed how multi-omics can be used to understand colorectal cancer disparities in Latino individuals and how global and local ancestry impacts these disparities. He also described clinical and genomic data integration in colorectal cancer disparities and recent technologies used to understand the tumor ...
The US is experiencing a maternity healthcare crisis where pre-term labors and infant and maternal mortality rates are up due to a lack of access to prenatal and postpartum care. Many of these women live in areas designated as maternity care deserts. These are areas where pregnant individuals and mothers have limited or nonexistent access to vital prenatal and postpartum health care. Maternal care deserts exist in 35% of US counties — encompassing 2.3 million reproductive aged women, according to the March of Dimes’ annual report, Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts in the US. According to the report, living in these areas greatly increases their risk for infant and maternal mortality, pre-term labor, and untreated conditions that could harm the lives of the mother or ...
To truly improve patient and community health, we must address the non-medical drivers of health, such as access to housing, transportation, and food that can make it harder for people to stay healthy. That’s where screening for the non-medical drivers of health comes in. Screening for the non-medical drivers of health is a questionnaire given to patients in a healthcare setting to help providers identify their needs. These include issues like financial hardship, housing, and food. Patients can then be referred to helpful community resources. You can use the new Salud America! Action Pack, “How to Start Screening for the Non-Medical Drivers of Health,” to launch screening in your clinic, hospital, or healthcare system! The action pack, created by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez ...
The month of October is Health Literacy Month, making it a great time to explore equitable health resources for Latinos and all people. Health Literacy Month was founded by Helen Osborne, M.Ed, OTR/L in 1999. Today, Helen works to helps professionals communicate health information in ways that patients and the public can understand. “By collectively working to improve health literacy, we’ll create a more equitable world where everyone can access high-quality care and achieve positive health outcomes,” according to the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA). Let’s dig deeper into the importance of Health Literacy Month and how you can take action for health literacy and health equity.
What is Health Literacy?
Health literacy can be defined in two ways, personal ...
Racism and discrimination are among Latinos’ biggest barriers to healthcare. Driven by years of social, structural, and institutionalized racism, Latinos and other people of color face inequities in care and mistrust of the healthcare system. This prompts reluctance to receive life-saving care or health screenings. Putting off care can result in a delayed diagnosis and prolonged and more expensive medical treatment for chronic diseases, such as cancer, leading to worse health outcomes. But how widespread is discrimination in healthcare? Doctors are more likely to use negative language when referencing Black and Latino patients in medical records, according to a new study in JMIR Medical Informatics. Let’s unpack the study and the meaning behind the results. ...
Cancer continues to be a leading cause of death in Latinos. Systemic racism and discrimination have led to disproportionate exposure to risk factors for cancer, such as obesity, diabetes, and stress. These risk factors are compounded by the social and economic inequities such as access to healthy foods, transportation, and health insurance that many Latinos face, making it difficult to seek healthcare, culminating in worse health outcomes. Another big factor is driving worse health for Latinos – a lack of preventative care. 64% of Latinos skipped recommended health screenings, such as colonoscopies, pap smears, mammograms, and more, according to a news release about the second annual Wellness Matters Survey published by Aflac. Let’s unpack the survey ...
Here are some sample materials from the full "How to Start Screening for the Non-Medical Drivers of Health" Action Pack from Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio.
Sample: Materials
We have sharable FAQs and case studies. FAQs (PDF)
Case Study: Nemours Samples: Conversation-Starters
We have customized emails and talking points to start the conversation. Email (PDF) Get the Free, Full Action Pack
Learn just how you can develop screening for the non-medical drivers of health! GET THE ...
