Improving Latinos' health is certainly rewarding enough. But we're especially honored today that SaludToday, the Latino health website, blog and social media campaign directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, was recognized by the 14th annual Web Health Awards, which laud honors the nation’s best digital health resources. SaludToday earned a "silver" award for its blog and a "merit" award for its Twitter feed. The IHPR also earned a "merit" award for its quarterly E-newsletter, IHPR Noticias, which trumpets the latest advancements in Latino health disparities news and research. For the Web Health Awards competition, which is held twice yearly, a panel of 32 experts in digital health media served as judges ...
Liver cancer rates among South Texas Latinos are higher than in other U.S. Latinos, as are their rates of obesity and diabetes—and the relationships between these ailments are being mapped by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. In a study published April 18, 2012, in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers looked at overall liver cancer rates among U.S. Latinos and compared this to a Texas sample and a South Texas subset from 1995-2006. They also compared prevalence among Latinos of lifestyle-associated factors that contribute to liver cancer: heavy alcohol use, smoking, obesity and diabetes. They found that from 1995 to 2006, annual age-adjusted liver cancer incidence ...
Increasing rates of obesity and diabetes may be contributing to a steep rise in liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), among Latinos in the U.S., particularly in Texas. Overall U.S. HCC rates grew from 1.7 cases to 5 cases per 100,000 from 1980 to 2005, and reached 7.5 cases per 100,000 among Latinos, according to data presented at a recent American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) conference by Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Dr. Ramirez and her colleagues also found that Latinos accounted for about 33% of HCC cases in Texas and 75% of cases in South Texas, while also documenting corresponding increases in the prevalence of obesity ...
Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latina breast cancer to helping Latinos pursue doctoral degrees—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. The E-newsletter has these stories: Story and Video: Giving Latinas a Chance vs. Breast Cancer (Pg 1)
Story: How a Typewriter Helped a Latina Launch a Career in Health Promotion (Pg 2)
Story and Video: Depression after Cancer Keeps Latinas from Follow-Up Care (Pg 3)
Story: Apply by 3/1/12 for Éxito Program to Get Help Pursuing a Doctoral Degree (Pg 5)
Story: San Antonio Schools Get Salad Bars (Pg 6)
Story and Video: Latino Man Works to Interrupt Street Violence (Pg 8 ) The E-newsletter is jam-packed ...
Redes En Acción:The National Latino Cancer Research Network has created a Spanish version of its new manual, A Patient Navigation Manual for Latino Audiences: The Redes En Acción Experience, to guide health organizations in developing patient navigation services for Latinos. Check out the manual in Spanish or English. The manual first defines patient navigation. Patient navigators are trained health workers who aim to help “navigate” underserved Latinos through the often-complex healthcare system and remove barriers to timely, quality care. It then offers a six-step guide to determine whether navigation is right for a health organization, and highlights important considerations for implementing navigation. The manual also features many robust tools, customizable ...
Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, was recently named a "Champion of Change” by the President Barack Obama's White House for her contributions to ending suffering from breast cancer. Now Dr. Ramirez has written a blog post for the White House. The inspirational post, "Giving Latinas a Chance Against Breast Cancer," highlights Latinas' cancer issues and discusses ways to overcome barriers:
Prevention is the key, and timely screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care are critical if Latinas are to survive cancer and sustain a good quality of life.
That’s why my Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San ...
Depression, in addition to other barriers, may prevent Latina breast cancer survivors from undergoing preventive health screening for colorectal and ovarian cancer, according to a new study. The study was presented by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, on Sept. 19, 2011, at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Washington D.C. “Depression can make people more inattentive to potential risks to their health and more likely to ignore recommendations to reduce their risk,” Dr. Ramirez said. Because depression is more common among breast cancer patients than the general population and because 10% of all new cancers are diagnosed in cancer ...
In response to rising obesity and breast cancer mortality rates, a new local study is testing how different types of exercise—like yoga—best improve cancer survivors’ fitness, quality of life and molecular indicators of future cancer risk. The project, Improving Mind and Physical ACTivity (IMPACT), is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Over the yearlong IMPACT study, 90 breast cancer survivors will be randomized to participate at least three times a week in: 1) a comprehensive exercise “prescription” featuring an individualized aerobic, strength-training and flexibility program; 2) a yoga exercise program; or 3) general exercise chosen at will. Study recruitment is underway. For eligibility, call ...
Watch Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, talk about why Latinos should consider participating in a cancer clinical trial. The video is in Spanish: Learn more about Latino cancer here. You can also join Dr. Ramirez' Redes En Acción network, a National Cancer Institute initiative to combat cancer among ...
