Minority women have low breast cancer screening rates. Even if they are screened, they delay confirmatory diagnosis and treatment because of costs, cultural and language issues, competing responsibilities, and more. That’s why Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is offering the Navegando Salud patient navigator program, which trains bilingual, bicultural community health workers to offer breast cancer screenings, education and other services to women in South Texas. Navegando Salud just received a one-year, $100,000 grant from the Avon Foundation. The grant was among 10 announced at the 12th Annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Houston on April 13, 2014. “We’re ...
The number of U.S. cancer survivors is rising. But the post-cancer journey can be tough, especially for Latinos and other minorities, who face worry about recurring disease, hard decisions regarding follow-up care, lack of emotional support and finances. That's why the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a national outreach network of community health educators (CHEs) are stationed at NCI-funded agencies across the country to help patients and their families receive survivorship support, according to an NCI article. The NCI article showcases several examples of CHEs in action. The report includes Sandra San Miguel de Majors, a CHE with the NCI's Reden En Acción: The National Latino Cancer Research Network, based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the University of ...
Only 5% percent of Latinos participate in federal clinical trials, giving researchers fewer chances to find new cancer treatments for this population. What can a health agency do to get more Latinos into clinical trials? A new guide, Clinical Trials Outreach for Latinos: Program Replication Manual, developed by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio, was created to help health agencies reach into Latino communities and increase their participation in cancer clinical trials. With the guide, a health agency can: Learn about cancer clinical trials;
Learn about donation of biospecimens (human materials such as skin, hair, and bodily fluids);
Learn the need for Latino-focused outreach to increase trial accrual and ...
Only 58% of Latinas in South Texas' Lower Rio Grande Valley start the three-dose HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer, compared to 65% across the U.S., studies show. That's why researchers are testing strategies to improve HPV vaccination rates. The Immunization Partnership recently brought together several experts for a community forum to offer some of the latest solutions. For example, one study is using promotoras (trained community health workers in the Latina community) and student peer educators to engage mothers and daughters in South Texas about the HPV vaccine. This project is directed by Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Watch this video for ...
Hispanics suffer higher rates of certain cancers, including cervical cancer and childhood leukemia, than other groups. That is one of the reasons behind Lifelines, a series of cancer education articles, videos and audio files from the National Cancer Institute’s Multicultural Media Outreach (MMO) program. The Lifelines series, in both English and Spanish, addresses cancer prevention, treatment, survivorship, health disparities, clinical trials and other cancer-related topics for African-American, Hispanic, Asian American and Pacific Islander and Native American populations. Lifelines Videos feature videos on a wide range of topics, including colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer, tobacco use and lung cancer, complementary and alternative medicine, and nutrition and cancer ...
Unpaved roads. Lack of proper sewage. Inadequate water. Rose A. Treviño-Whitaker grew up among these third-world conditions that plague some colonias—mostly Latino unincorporated settlements in South Texas. That’s why she is dedicating her career to preventing disease and promoting public health as a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. She’s particularly interested in increasing physical activity. “Regardless of the neighborhood conditions I grew up in, I still led an active lifestyle. My sisters and I still went outside and had a great time playing soccer in the streets with the other neighborhood kids,” Treviño said. “It is hard to see that this is not the case anymore, in my old ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Sandra Acevedo
Torrance, Calif. When Sandra Acevedo first came to the United States at age 10, she didn’t know anybody who spoke Spanish like she did. But with the support of her family and mentors, Acevedo not only learned English but has gone on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California Riverside and a master’s in public health degree (with a focus on nutrition) from Loma Linda University. Acevedo currently works for a diabetes prevention and management program that provides services in underserved areas of Los Angeles County. In search of information about applying ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Monica Aguilar
Downey, Calif. With a Belizean mother who always cared for others, offered support, and excelled in a health profession, Monica Aguilar was motivated to blaze her own trail to improve the lives of others. Aguilar got her start in health with a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in health science. Today she gone on to serve as a community health educator, research assistant, and data manager for health education and health promotion projects, and now she is pursuing a master’s in public health degree at California State University Long Beach. Aguilar applied for the Éxito! Latino ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 7, 2014, for the 2014 Èxito! program. Lani Alcaraz
Houston, Texas Lani Alcaraz watched her father overcome many hardships and poverty in Mexico to become a doctor. Encouraged by his success, Alcaraz developed her own sense of perseverance and ambition and earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology (with a minor in chemistry) and her certificate in public health from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in January 2010. Alcaraz is currently pursuing her master’s in public health in epidemiology with a concentration in maternal and child health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Her research ...
