Minority health

Senate Bill 98 Creates UT Health Science Center South Texas

This week, Texas Governor Rick Perry and other state and local officials were at the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen to sign Texas Senate Bill 98 and officially begin the process of creating a new four-year medical school in the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Dr. Leonel Vela, Dean of the Regional Academic Health Center at the ceremonial signing of SB 98.

Texas Governor Rick Perry and Dr. Leonel Vela, Dean of the Regional Academic Health Center at the ceremonial signing of SB 98 on Tuesday, September 1.

Currently, the RAHC serves as a branch campus of the UT Health Science Center San Antonio and provides opportunities for 3rd and 4th year medical students to gain clinical experience in the US-Mexico border region. The bill calls for the RAHC to be converted into a independent campus called The University of Texas Health Science Center South Texas.

With the founding of a four-year medical school in the region, officials hope that an increase in the number of much-needed health care professionals in the area will soon follow. With the formal passage of SB 98, state officials will immediately begin the work of funding the project.  An article in the September 2nd issue of the McAllen Monitor provides more information on this historic event.

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Some folk remedies have extremely high lead content

This recent article from the Brownsville Herald took an AP report regarding high lead content of certain folk remedies, and combined it with local reporting on sources of lead poisoning in the Valley. The article centered on a specific incident in Houston to report on several dangerous folk remedies which all contain extremely high levels of lead, including:

  • A generally Mexican folk remedy called greta, a yellow or bright orange powder that may be mixed with olive oil when given to treat diarrhea or stomach upset (“empacho“)
  • Another generally Mexican folk remedy called azarcón (also known as coral, maría luisa, rueda, alarcón or liga), a orange powder which may also be mixed with olive oil and given to treat stomach ailments like empacho
  • A generally Dominican folk remedy called litargirio, a yellow or peach-colored powder traditionally used for a variety of purposes including as a deodorant, foot fungicide, and burn or wound treatment
  • A number of ayurvedic remedies common in South Asian immigrant communities, including ghasard and mahayogaraj gugullu

According to the article, nearly 20% of lead poisoning cases in Harris County are blamed on traditional medicines.

Although Brownsville Herald reporter Melissa McEver was unable to find any local retail stores that acknowledged selling greta or azarcón, the national version of the story (see this version from the AP) reported that Harris County investigators had found that some storekeepers would keep such remedies “behind the counter,” bringing them out only for known customers. McEver did, however, quote a Region 11 DSHS official who indicated that pottery and ceramic dishes were found to be a source in many local cases of lead poisoning.

Additional resources:

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South San ISD Tackling Childhood Obesity

South San Independent School District is halfway through a three year program to fight childhood obesity by increasing health knowledge and improving health behavior among its elementary and middle school students.  The program, called Proyecto Bienstar, is a diabetes and obesity prevention education program.  According to Gary Sadlon, South ISD’s health and physical education coordinator, “The real issue here is prevention.  It is an epidemic.  It will take a community effort to reduce the youth diabetes issue in the South San Antonio ISD community and some initial results are showing some great progress.”

It is hoped that through a change in knowledge and eating habits, biological markers can then be modified in order to lessen the risk of diabetes and obesity.

JoAnn Fowler, whose son is participating in the program, says . . . “It is a fabulous program and it should be implemented all over the United States.  It has offered my son a world of information regarding his well being.”

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Spanish language brochure about informed food choices targets Hispanic youth

The Weight Control Information Network (WIN), an information service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, has included among its publications ¡Hazte Cargo de tu salud! Guia para jóvenes (Taking charge of your health! A guide for teenagers.). The brochure encourages healthy eating and exercise and offers information about nutrition and food labels as well as tips for eating out in order to educate teens and help them make informed decisions and healthy food choices. A recent (2007) report by Trust for America’s Health titled “F as in Fat” found that Texas youth aged 10-17 are the 4th most overweight in the country. Especially among Hispanic youth, overweight and obesity represent serious health risks. More information about this brochure and other publications is available on the WIN web site at http://win.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm.

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State Senator Eliot Shapleigh Criticizes Border Health Commission

On March 14 Texas state senator Eliot Shapleigh published an open letter sharply criticizing the Border Health Commission. Shapleigh’s letter highlights persistent health disparities in the border region.

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Stroke Cases Among Mexican-Americans to Soar

The number of stroke victims among Mexican-Americans is expected to skyrocket 350 percent to more than 120,000 by the year 2050.  This figure is the result of information that has been collected during the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi Project (BASIC), a study undertaken to compare stroke in non-Hispanic whites and Mexican-Americans, according to Shawnita Jefferson, an investigator at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Although the total number of those invidividuals affected isn’t as high as non-Hispanic whites, the increase is a staggering rise, nonetheless.

BASIC is an ongoing stroke surveillance project focusing on Mexican-Americans that began in 1999.

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Study of Border Moms Reveals Similarities and Differences

The results of a study conducted in 2005 of almost 1,000 new mothers on both sides of the border by the Brownsville-Matamoros Sister City Project for Women’s Health has revealed both similarities and differences in pregnancy and health practices. 

The basis for conducting the study was to see if the data they collected would accurately represent what was happening along the border.  Sister cities were chosen in hopes that similar studies might be conducted in other sister cities along the border.

Among the similarities was the fact that nearly half of the pregnancies on both sides of the border were unplanned.  According to Dr. Brian Castrucci with the Texas Department of State Health Services, this should cause concern.  “Almost every piece of reproductive health is based on planned pregnancies.  Take folic acid, get prenatal care, be healthy before you get pregnant – all based on a planned model.”  The large number of unplanned pregnancies presents an opportunity for both nations to collaborate on addressing this problem.  Other similarities included the age upon having sex for the first time and the percentage of women under the age of 20 giving birth.

Differences between the two sides included figures that showed Brownsville women were more likely to see a doctor in their first trimester, but Matamoros women were more likely to receive counseling about postpartum contraception during prenatal care.  Matmoros women were almost four times more likely to begin breastfeeding before leaving the hospital and less than half as likely to drink alcohol.  According to Dr. Carstrucci, the reasons behind some of the differences may fall more under the category of government policy than cultural differences. 

Results of the study have been published online in English and Spanish in multiple papers in the October 2008 issue of Preventing Chronic Disease.

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Summer Nutrition Program to Begin

The Laredo Independent School District will be offering a free food program during the summer, beginning June 6, for all children and youth under the age of 18.  There are no requirements or registration involved.  According to Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples, “The food is served to all regardless of economic status and even includes students with disabilities over 18 who are enrolled in the school nutrition program.”  Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be offered Monday through Thursday in 62 locations, including schools, county recreation centers, libraries, housing, churches and other community settings. 

Information (including sites and times of meals) on the Laredo program can be obtained by calling the 311 system or visiting the Laredo Independent School District News and Information page.   To find other local locations for the summer nutrition program throughout the state, please visit the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Summer Nutrition Program website.

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Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day, September 18

September 18, 2007 is Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day. It is the day to encourage those you love to visit a health professional — or at least make an appointment to visit one. Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day encourages individuals to see a health care professional on or around September 18, 2007, or make an appointment for the near future. The focus on a single day generates greater understanding of the importance of regular health screenings while at the same time focus on those populations that tend to have the least access to health care.

Take a Loved One for a Checkup Day is nationally promoted by Closing the Health Gap, as part of the Department of Health and Human Services‘ efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote the goals of Healthy People 2010.

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Texas-Mexican Border Study finds pesticides a BIG problem.

HARLINGEN,TX— Air samples from homes of Hispanic mothers-to-be along the Texas-Mexico border contained multiple pesticides in a majority of the houses, according to a study conducted by the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.
Several studies have reported that pesticide exposure may adversely affect mental and motor development of the infants during infancy and childhood. The new report is in the summer issue of the Texas Public Health Journal .

Click Here to read the entire story as it appears in the HSC News Publication, and what suggestions are being made to remedy the situation.  Story by Will Sansom and Sheila Hotchkin.

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