Hispanic health

June 3 Workshop in El Paso: Turning Scientific Knowledge into an Effective Action Plan for Human Security

The US-Mexico Border Virtual Health Library is organizing a workshop in El Paso on June 3. From the workshop announcement: “Using a hands-on approach, this workshop will train participants on how to use the online tools available through the U.S.-Mexico Border Virtual Health Library (Border VHL), as well as from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Online Databases, effectively. Furthermore, the workshop will highlight other Web resources tailored to the public health workforce.”

The workshop will be offered as part of the US-Mexico Border Health Association’s annual meeting. Space is limited and pre-registration for the meeting is required. The workshop will be led by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine – South Central Region and the Pan American Health Organization/WHO US-Mexico Border Office.

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KFF Healthcast: “Salud para Todos”

Last week, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute sponsored a panel entitled “Salud para Todos: Expanding Access to Health Care,” intended to examine the impact of expansions of health coverage on Latinos and how access to care can be improved for Latinos. Panelists included:

Elena Rios, President and CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association
Kathy Flores, Director, University of California, San Francisco Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research
Aida Giachello, Director, Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center
Celia Wcislo, Board Member, Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector; Assistant Division Director, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Juan Rivera, Fellow, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Heart Disease
Carmela Lacayo, Executive Director, National Association for Hispanic Elderly

The Kaiser Network has now made available a streaming video (approx. 2 hrs 12 mins) and the 84-page PDF transcript of the panel discussion.

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Knowledge of Colon Cancer Beneficial

Awareness of what colon cancer is and how it can be kept from occurring is an important message that needs to be delivered to the Hispanic community. Making individuals aware of what they can do in partnership with their doctors is key to this goal. According to Marcia R. Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, FASGE, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, “Colon cancer is a largely preventable disease. Colonoscopy screening can detect polyps and remove them before they turn into cancer.”

Colon cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in Hispanic Americans and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Hispanic men, and the third leading in women. It is important for everyone in the community to understand the biggest risk for colon cancer is a person’s age, not their sex. Without definitive symptoms, it is especially important to catch this cancer at an early stage. If caught early, most people are cured. If caught in later stages, the chances for cure are much lower. Regular testing beginning at age 50, or earlier depending on family history, is key to discovering any precancerous polyps.

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy offers a colon cancer awareness Web site at http://www.screen4coloncancer.org where information is available in Spanish, as well as English.

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Latinas Contra El Cancer

Latinas Contra El Cancer will be hosting a National Latino Cancer Summit at the UCSF-Conference Center at Mission Bay July 30-Aug 1, 2008. The conference will convene clinical researchers, health policy experts, community activist and cancer survivors. Conference organizers seek to bring attention to the issue of cancer and cancer care disparities among the Latinos in the United States in this first of the kind conference. For more information and submitting abstracts go to http://www.latinascontracancer.org/

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Latino Diabetes Toolkit Available

The American Diabetes Association, in partnership with the Abbott Fund, is providing a new Adult Prevention Toolkit to community and faith-based organizations to assist the Hispanic community in empowering themselves to manage their health through education and information. The kit provides comprehensive and culturally relevant information on diabetes and healthy living….including bilingual brochures, recipe samplers, educational material, posters, and healthy lifestyle tip sheets.

“Personal health matters such as diabetes can be a sensitive subject among Latino communities, ” said Lurelean B. Gaines, M.S.N., chair of the American Diabetes Association National Latino Subcommittee. “We want to change that in a culturally sensitive way. The American Diabetes Association provides a wealth of relevant information specifically for Hispanic/Latino populations, so health issues can move from the personal or individual challenges, to broader community-based solutions.”

Community and faith-based organizations were chosen due to their close relationship with the Hispanic/Latino communities. Those organizations may order a free copy of the Adult Prevention Toolkit by calling 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

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Latino Diet – can be good for you?

The Latino Nutrition Coalition, a consortium of industry, scientists, chefs an latino food pyramid d Oldways Preservation Trust, has banded together to provide information for better Latino health through traditional foods and lifestyles. Their first initiative, Camino Mágico, is a supermarket guide that assists Latinos with appropriate food choices from traditional latino foods. The guide is downloadable and is a great educational tool that can be distributed at health fairs, etc. http://www.latinonutrition.org/pdf/CaminoMagico.pdf

The group has also created a Latino Food Pyramid which incorporates a variety of traditional Latino foods and shows how they can contribute to a healthy, balanced eating pattern.

The site is also available in Spanish.

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Linguistic Isolation

Last week, the Census Bureau released new data from the 2006 American Community Survey, covering geographic areas with populations over 65,000. Although there are lots of potentially useful insights contained in these data, there was one measure I found striking because I hadn’t been aware of its use before: “linguistic isolation.” The Census Bureau defines “linguistically isolated” households as those where all household members age 14 or older have difficulty with the English language. For the five largest counties in our service area, here’s how the figures break down, where…

Column [1] represents households that speak English at home (as % of total households)
Column [2] represents households that speak Spanish at home (as % of total households)
Column [3] represents all linguistically isolated households (as % of total households)
Column [4] represents Spanish-speaking linguistically isolated households (as % of total households)

County (Major City)	[1] English	[2] Spanish	[3] Ling Iso	[4] LI Spanish
Bexar (San Antonio)	48.45%	47.15%	8.63%	8.16%
Cameron (Brownsville, Harlingen)	25.67%	73.02%	19.45%	19.28%
Hidalgo (Edinburg, McAllen, Mission)	13.93%	84.89%	21.35%	21.31%
Nueces (Corpus Christi)	51.27%	46.32%	7.42%	7.10%
Webb (Laredo)	4.56%	94.64%	34.68%	34.21%

Perhaps there’s nothing here we didn’t already know — but perhaps looking at it this way provides a new perspective and can help to explain why health information services offered in English and Spanish can reach so much further here than those offered only in English.

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Look What’s Coming in February and March, 2013!

ABCD Workshop
Asset Based Community Development

Bringing Together: UT Health Science Center researchers, public health workers, area health professionals, community health workers (Promotores), public and academic librarians, Area Health Education Center Translational Advisory Boards (TABS), community health organizations, and more …

+++ More Information coming next month +++

Two Workshop Locations:

UTHSC San Antonio, TX: Thursday, February 21, 2013 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. segerp@uthscsa.edu

UTHSC Harlingen, TX: Thursday, March 7, 2013 9A.M. to 12:00 Noon. reynag@uthscsa.edu

Please email if you are interested in attending

[Meeting Locations – TBD]

Posted in Conferences, Hispanic health, Minority health, News, Resources, South Texas, Staying Well. Connected., UTHSCSA Library News | Comments Off

Low-Income Hispanic Women Eat Healthier

It’s often said that healthy food is too expensive to eat, especially on a budget. But a recent study of low-income women shows differently. The study involved low-income mothers who take part in the Head Start programs in Alabama and Texas. Results show that Hispanic women were more likely to eat larger amounts of fruits and vegetables than white or black women. It is thought that Hispanic women probably follow a more traditional diet, that includes more beans, grains and produce than the typical American diet.

Results of the study have been published in the April 2008 issue of Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

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March is National Nutrition Month

We have a serious situation on our hands.
For the first time in the history of the world we are seeing great progress in the near complete eradication of hunger. While we have not solved the problem completely, it can be said that we are supplying food to at least most of the world. More of the poorer countries are learning agricultural techniques to insure a sustained food supply.

Why then, with such success, are we now facing a global epidemic of obesity? Perhaps nutrition cannot be defined merely as fuel for the body, but it must also include adequate work and exercise for the body. Nutritious foods can make us healthy, but food alone will not necessarily produce a total picture of health; we need also nutritious work and exercise to build good muscle, bone, blood and tissue.

Last year, a global study performed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, (OECD), on the health of the world in general, found that more than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, were obese and that obesity was spilling over from the wealthy into poorer nations. It’s become an epidemic.

So, what can be done?

Most healthcare professionals agree that the most obvious and imminent causes for over-weight and obesity problems are consumption of excess calories, unhealthy eating habits and insufficient physical activity among children and adults. Individuals in the medical sciences, are being called upon to be leaders in opening the eyes of our communities to see the inherent dangers that threaten us all.

Below is a collection of articles aimed at studying and addressing our complete nutritional problem. You may want to share some of these articles and videos with your clients, patients, students and caregivers. Together we can turn things around and help make lives better and healthier.

MedlinePlus: Obesity rates rise, threaten health in OECD nations:

US Department of Agriculture:

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute – For Health Professionals:

Texas Department of State Health Services:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

MedlinePlus:

MedlinePlus
Nutrition for Seniors:

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:

Scholarly articles

OECD

Obesity in Latino Communities:

Obesity prevalence and the local food environment