Latinos often face many obstacles that prevent them from obtaining health equity. One of the bigger hurdles they frequently have to overcome is a lack of access to quality healthcare. Lack of transportation equity prevents many Latinos from regularly accessing preventative care. According to the Community Transportation Association of America, about 3.6 million patients miss medical appointments each year because of transportation issues. A new, unique initiative between Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) and an unlikely partner is looking to alleviate some of these concerns. The rides-sharing service Lyft is partnering with the health coverage provider to help cut down on missed healthcare appointments. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address ...
Latinos are the largest ethnic and racial minority group in the country and their numbers are rapidly growing. They are expected to grow from 1 in 6 people today to 1 in 4 by 2035 and 1 in 3 by 2060. Despite their prevalence in the country, Latinos suffer vast differences in health conditions compared to whites. These health disparities are often rooted in social disadvantage. Health inequities are found in several often unavoidable areas, including housing segregation, access to care, income, and educational attainment. Latino children currently make up roughly 25% of all children in the United States. Given this substantial number, how they fare academically will have a massive impact on the social and economic well-being of the country as a whole for generations to ...
Fact – where you greatly determines how healthy you will be. A recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington determined that the life expectancy at birth differs by as much as 20 years between the lowest rated and highest rated counties surveyed in the United States. Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray and his team studied the life expectancy of each U.S. county from 1980-2014 analyzing county-level data and applied mathematical models to estimate the average length of lives. According to the findings, life expectancy at birth increased by 5.3 years for both men and women (from 73.8 years to 79.1 years) between 1980 and 2014. Over that time, men gained 6.7 years (going from 70 years on average to 76.7 years) while women gained four ...
Researchers from the University of Maryland College of Education have recently completed a study where they examined the development and early home experiences of young Latino boys in comparison to the development of white boys and Latina girls. “Our research focused on the early childhood experiences of Latino boys because that is such a crucial time for the development of skills needed for school and life success,” said Dr. Natasha Cabrera, lead researcher on the study. “A better understanding of the strengths as well as the difficulties of the home environment and development could help in crafting interventions that improve academic performance for Latino boys.” Cabrera and her research team determined that, similar to their white peers, Latino boys tend to grow up in ...
Kindergarten is a crucial time for all young students. It is the time when the foundations of fundamental learning skills are laid and can greatly impact the rest of a student’s academic career. Kindergarten is especially crucial for children when it comes to language learning. For Latinos and other low-income kids, they face the additional challenge of having obstacles in place at school and at home. “Children may go from a home with limited physical and psychological resources for learning and language to a school with similar constraints, resulting in a double dose of disadvantage,” said Susan Neuman professor of childhood and literacy education at New York University in an interview with Medine Plus. Neuman and her colleges followed 70 kindergarteners in Michigan (4.72% ...
May 17th this year (2017) is the when Seattle will propose an ordinance to tax sugary drinks like soda, energy drinks, juice, and sweetened teas at two cents per ounce for distributors. Like many of the cities working to decrease health risks associated with consumption of sugary drinks, Seattle hopes to deter sugary drink consumption, increase health and fund educational disparities. Berkeley, in California, has successfully decreased the consumption of sugary drinks by 20 percent. Also, Mexico is continuing to see a decrease in consumption of sugary drinks in the country with the added sugary beverage tax. The tax in Seattle is being proposed by Mayor Ed Murray who is expecting to raise over 15 million dollars to help fund educational programs that would be recommended by the ...
Lack of affordable housing has strong implications for many Latinos and greatly impacts their quality of life. Many Latinos live in racially segregated, low-income, high-poverty areas with limited access to fresh, healthy foods, quality healthcare, and physical activity spaces. Also, many areas restrict Latinos access to opportunities impacting their choice of school or their children and limits their chance to obtain higher paying jobs. For those living in rural areas, the access to affordable housing is often even more limited. According to the non-profit group, Smart Growth America, the cost of living in rural areas is generally lower than in metro areas, yet many residents of rural cities and towns nevertheless struggle to afford the homes and apartments available in those ...
Attaining an education is one of the key social determinants of health. For many Latinos, getting an education beyond high school prevents them from obtaining a higher quality of life. While more and more Latinos are enrolling in two- and four-year universities, the gap in achievement is still vast between them and their white peers. Excelencia in Education, a non-profit organization founded to accelerate higher education access for Latino students, was recently announced as the recipient of a $1.5 million in grants from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and Lumina Foundation to “expand strategies that accelerate Latino student success in higher education.” “This important collaboration highlights Lumina’s continued commitment to accelerate Latino student ...
Where you live determines so much about your overall quality of life. For many Latinos, housing segregation limits their access to quality education, healthcare, and opportunities and often limits them in what they can do for employment. In the city of San Francisco, Calif. (15.3% Latino population), city planners have been seeking input from residents on a new 130-unit housing project in the historic Mission area. According to CBS News, San Francisco is the fourth most expensive city to live in in the United States. 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. The rising costs for housing (the median home price there is $820,000) have simply ...
