The Latino Med Journal

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2011-04-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers and Followers,

We are changing our online publication strategies and will soon be deleting this site. To get the latest information about Latinos, we suggest visiting and following us on "The Journal On Latino Americans" website. Thank you for your following.

Sincerely,
Adrian Perez, CEO/Pulisher
POP-9 Communications
aperez@pop-9.com

POP-9 Communications is the publisher of The Journal On Latino Americans; Vida de Oro; The American Latina; The Perez Factor; and coming soon - SacLatino and Decepti-Kon.

National Latino AIDS awareness unveils campaign slogan

2011-04-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day – Theme for 2011 Latinos stand Together! Let's stay healthy! Get Tested for HIV

NEW YORK, NY - The National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) is a national community mobilization and social marketing campaign focused on HIV awareness, testing, prevention and education. NLAAD takes place annually on October 15th, the last day of Hispanic Heritage month and was initiated as a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis within Hispanic/Latino communities in the U.S. and its territories. In the past eight years, organizations participating in NLAAD have provided HIV testing to over 75,000 individuals nationwide.

“Hispanics/Latinos face so many health challenges including discrimination, language barriers, social stigma, poverty and as of late, tremendous anti-immigrant sentiment. The outcome of CENSUS 2010, reminds us that Hispanic/Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic population and NLAAD’s vision is to reach and strengthen healthy communities”

This year’s theme “Latinos stand together! Let's stay healthy! Get Tested for HIV” speaks to the critical role of our communities engaging in not just HIV alone but also other health issues, such as Tuberculosis, Viral Hepatitis and other sexually transmitted infections that impact all of our communities.

The most recent data from the Center’s for Disease Control (CDC) shows that over 200,000 Hispanics/Latinos have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

“Hispanics/Latinos face so many health challenges including discrimination, language barriers, social stigma, poverty and as of late, tremendous anti-immigrant sentiment. The outcome of CENSUS 2010, reminds us that Hispanic/Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic population and NLAAD’s vision is to reach and strengthen healthy communities,” stated Guillermo Chacón, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS.

NLAAD recognizes the Office of Minority Health and Dr. Garth N. Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health in the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, on their leadership and support for the mission and vision of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD).

About NLAAD: National Latino AIDS Awareness Day was developed by the Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Federation in partnership with community based organizations, people living with HIV/AIDS, state and regional health departments and others. Partnerships with the media, elected officials, civic and religious leaders, foundations, celebrities and the health care system are forged to raise awareness among Latinos in the United States and territories. To find out more about NLAAD visit www.nlaad.org.

Hispanic cancer awareness and education effort announced

2011-04-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

Partnership with the National Cancer Institute Targets Hispanic Population

NEW YORK, NY -- Hispanic Information & Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN), President and CEO Jose Luis Rodriguez today announced a cancer awareness and education initiative in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) specifically for the Spanish-speaking community. The video vignette series will premiere on April 26 as part of HITN'S public affairs show Dialogo de Costa a Costa; and will also air as part of HITN's larger health campaign Mi Salud Primero.

HITN Vice President of Development, Magaly Rivera said, "Arming our communities with information about risks, prevention, and treatment is our goal. This partnership will bring more awareness to our communities to prepare more families to be champions and advocates for their own health. We are honored to add NCI's expertise to our health campaign Mi Salud Primero that offers family friendly tools for health awareness and improvement."

The broadcast partnership will bring to national, Spanish-language television, two-minute video segments called "Lifelines" to inform and educate the Hispanic community about cancer related issues. Among the topics for the coming months are: What to Do After a Cancer Diagnosis, Cancer Risk and Nutrition, and Clinical Trials Awareness. In May, Skin Cancer Awareness Month, the Lifelines feature will introduce a new brochure from NCI, Anyone Can Get Skin Cancer, designed specifically for minority populations and people with dark skin.

A new Lifelines segment will be launched each month in observance of a specific cancer awareness focus, including Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (September), Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November), and Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (March). One of NCI's most well-known Spanish-speaking doctors, Jorge Gomez, Ph.D., M.D., will serve as the expert host for all Lifelines videos. The information presented in the videos will be tailored to address how certain cancers specifically affect members of the Hispanic community.

The NCI created Lifelines in 2008 initially for Hispanic and African American audiences. It began as a monthly newspaper series, and is still distributed to Hispanic and African American community newspapers nationwide. Select newspaper articles are now converted to two-minute videos given the immense popularity of web videos. The videos are produced by NCI and feature NCI researchers and affiliates as spokespersons to their respective ethnic communities. Videos and other resources for Spanish speakers can be found at www.cancer.gov/espanol.

The Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN) was established in 1983 as a non-profit organization. HITN's mission is to advance Hispanics by providing engaging, educational entertainment that empowers the community to serve as an ever-growing engine of intellectual power and progress. HITN-TV is the first U.S.-owned, non-commercial, Spanish-language media company delivering educational programming to more than 36 million homes nationwide on Satellite and Cable focusing on Health, Financial Literacy, and Education. HITN is also the largest holder of Educational Broadband Spectrum (EBS) in the US, supporting the next generation of wireless broadband networks and creating new opportunities to deliver educational content and connect communities. Visit us online at http://www.hitn.tv.

SOURCE Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc.

Hispanic families encouraged to eat together, eat healthy

2011-04-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

TUCOCINA partners with Chef Portillo to encourage Hispanic families to get back to the dinner table.

NEW YORK, NY. - - TUCOCINA, a New York-based Latin kitchenware maker, today announced that it has partnered with Los Angeles-based nutrition expert Chef Portillo, widely recognized as a healthy Latin food thought leader, for the launch of "La Salud en Tu Cocina," an initiative developed by TUCOCINA to encourage Hispanic families to eat healthier and help bring them back around the dinner table.

Named Culinary Woman of 2010 by the National Latina Business Women Association, Los Angeles, 'Latin Lite' Chef Portillo will develop delicious, healthy and affordable recipes, write a column and conduct demonstrations for TUCOCINA's initiative. Focused on connecting Hispanic families back to Latin culinary traditions and health awareness, the Latin kitchenware company will also provide cooking utensils and pair Chef Portillo with many of the participating families to help them plan, shop, prepare and cook healthy meals at home.

Convinced that food prepared at home and served around the dinner table is an essential part of the Hispanic family tradition, TUCOCINA has built a brand that has a positive impact on the Latin food lovers it touches.

"The program is near and dear to our hearts at TUCOCINA because studies point out that Hispanic children are at higher risk of becoming overweight and suffering from obesity-related conditions due, in part, to a lack of healthy food alternatives" said TUCOCINA's president and founder, Rafael Rodas. "Chef Portillo is a perfect match for TUCOCINA and this program. Her fresh and simple approach to cooking, passion for authenticity, and close relationship with local farmers and purveyors is exactly what we were looking for in a chef partner. With Chef Portillo's help, we planon spreading the program coast-to-coast."

TUCOCINA offers products found in traditional cocinas, using innovative designs, enhanced functionality and superior kitchenware quality, which are available at over 600 hundred retailers. To find and purchase their calderos, comals, griddles, pots, pans and specialty kitchenware accessories, visit http://www.tucocina.net/category.

About TUCOCINA

TUCOCINA complements the home cook's experience by offering high quality, practical products for everyday use in today's Latin kitchen. For more information, visit: http://tucocina.net. For media and product distribution inquiries, contact Lucia Matthews at lucia@dialogo.us.

About Chef Portillo

Based in Los Angeles, Chef Portillo is a world-class chef, food consultant, spokesperson, nutritionist, owner and executive chef of Il Bella Café and Il Bella Events. With a degree in Culinary Arts from the famous Le Cordon Bleu, Chef Portillo has studied and practiced the intricacies of international organic and Latino cuisine. For more information, visit www.ilbellaevents.com. To book demonstrations or for spokesperson inquiries, contact Lucia Matthews at lucia@dialogo.us

VA narrows racial gaps in care, but not in outcomes

2011-04-14T04:51:00.000-07:00

Big Differences Persist Between African American and White Veterans in Areas Like Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Control, For Unknown Reasons

Bethesda, MD -- In the past decade, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care System has made great progress in providing screenings and treating high-risk conditions for all its patients, thus substantially closing the gaps in care provided white and African American enrollees. However, a new study shows that big differences still persist between black and white veterans when it comes to outcomes in heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. The research appears in the April 2011 edition of the monthly journal Health Affairs.
The study examined a national sample of more than 1.2 million VA enrollees between 2000 and 2009 for 10 clinical performance measures related to cancer screening and cardiovascular and diabetes care. The authors of the study say that, while the VA greatly improved the quality of care for white and black veterans over that period, those efforts have not narrowed racial gaps in clinical outcomes. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation's largest philanthropy focused solely on health and health care, sponsored the issue.
"The VA has narrowed care gaps that are directly under the control of the providers - ordering tests, referring to the appropriate specialist, and conducting screenings," says Amal Trivedi, research investigator at the Providence VA Medical Center and an assistant professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. However, among all VA medical centers, there was as much as a nine percentage point difference between black and white veterans in measures indicating whether cholesterol, diabetes, and blood pressure were under control. Thus, improvements in clinical performance were not accompanied by meaningful reductions in racial disparities for outcomes that not only affect how healthy people are and how long they live, but also significantly drive up health costs.
The bottom line, says Trivedi, is that "Even in a system with all the quality improvement strengths of the VA, important gaps remain," he says. The reasons are unknown, he says, and more research is needed to understand the drivers of these differences in clinical outcomes.
Trivedi and his colleagues also examined whether racial disparities in care were driven primarily by a concentration of black enrollees in lower performing VA facilities or differential quality for white and black veterans receiving care in the same VA facility. With the exception of mammography screening, performance rates improved for white and black veterans on each quality indicator for processes and outcomes of care, most particularly for eye exams for diabetes.
Although the VA is a universal health system that has spent a decade working on quality improvement, Trivedi says the study has broad implications. The findings underscore the urgency of "focused efforts" to improve intermediate clinical outcomes among black Americans in both the VA and other health care settings. "We not only have to measure whether someone got a test but also whether anything happened as a result of that test," he says. "In other words, whether the test showed that treatment was indicated; whether the treatment was received; and whether the treatment translated into improvements in measurements like blood pressure or cholesterol control."
The study's coauthors were Regina Grebla of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Steven Wright of the VA's Office of Quality and Performance, and Donna Washington of the Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center and UCLA.
The findings come at the heels of a growing number of studies, most recently from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)'s 2010 National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparity Report. The AHRQ and other studies show that racial and ethnic disparities continue at persistently high levels.

About Health Affairs

Health Affairs, published by Project HOPE, is the leading journal of health policy. The peer-reviewed journal appears each month in print, with additional Web First papers published weekly at www.healthaffairs.org. You can also find the journal on Facebook and Twitter and download Narrative Matters on iTunes. Address inquiries to Sue Ducat at (301) 841-9962 or sducat@projecthope.org.
This email was sent to medicalquality@email.msn.com. You are receiving this e-mail because you registered on the Health Affairs Web site. Click here to unsubscribe http://www.healthaffairs.org/1260_opt_in.php.

Many Hispanics remain cool to organ donation

2011-03-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

Hispanics are less likely to donate organs than by non-Hispanic Americans.

By Jim Forsyth, Reuters

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - When Norma Garcia's 13-year-old daughter was killed in a car wreck, she had no idea that in the midst of her grief she was about to plunge into a controversy that would test her cultural identity and Christian faith.

After Jasmine Garcia was declared brain dead following the 2001 accident, doctors at San Antonio's University Hospital asked her mother if she would be willing to donate her daughter's organs.

"The majority of my family had a belief that, 'How could you do that? How could you allow her to be mutilated? How could you let them take her heart out?'" recalled Garcia, a San Antonio real estate agent. "My parents are from Mexico, and they had the feeling that, 'She is your daughter. Why would you allow them to do this to her?"

Garcia ultimately made an organ donation of Jasmine's heart and liver, a decision that left her estranged from several relatives for some time, she recalled.

Her experience highlights a cultural divide that organ donation advocates say is threatening the ability of surgeons to save lives through organ transplants, especially as new census figures show the nation's Hispanic population surging.

Hispanics -- especially first- and second-generation Mexican-Americans -- are less likely to donate organs than Americans as a whole, according to organ donation experts.

"We find that the Hispanic community tells us, 'My religion says not to donate,' and 'I can't have an open casket because the body will be damaged,'" said Esmeralda Perez of the Texas Organ Sharing Alliance. "They feel that their loved one will be disfigured, or the person will not be able to get into heaven because their body will not be whole."

In South Texas along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Laredo, where Latinos make up the vast majority of 1.4 million residents -- many of them first-generation Mexican-Americans -- organs from just 19 individuals were donated in 2010, according to the alliance. The overall U.S. average is about 26 organ donors per million, Perez said.

Thirty-one percent of organ donors across Texas in 2010 were Hispanic, while new census figures show that 42 percent of the state's population is Latino.

Latinos' reticence about organ donation centers on religion, said Nuvia Enriquez, Hispanic outreach coordinator for the Donor Network of Arizona.

"A lot of work that we do is to go out and try to dissolve some of these myths," she said. "We talk to them about the Catholic Church's position on donation, which is very positive. Pope John Paul II was actually the first pope to declare donation to be an act of love, and Pope Benedict, when he was Cardinal, was a card-carrying organ donor."

The Rev. John Leies, a prominent Catholic theologian and former president of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, said the church is working to convince the faithful that organ donation does not render the body unfit for the afterlife.

"The church is well aware that there are so may people waiting for organs, and there are not enough to be supplied and people die without receiving their organs," he said. "It is difficult to fight against these cultural ideas, and maybe the church hasn't made a good enough effort."

Perez said that 45 percent of patients on the national waiting list to receive organs are Hispanic.

Garcia said her relatives, who once so strongly criticized her decision to donate Jasmine's organs, have since become big supporters of organ donation.

"After we all got more educated, and the family started attending these events where donors' families meet organ recipients, and seeing how much of a difference this has made in the lives of others and the good they could do for all these people, and how this was keeping Jasmine's memory alive, I think they realized it was the right decision," she said.

(Edited by Corrie MacLaggan and Steve Gorman)

Arthritis Strikes 3 Million U.S. Hispanics

2011-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Report provides sub-group data among Hispanics nationwide.

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Arthritis affects 3.1 million Hispanics in the U.S. and causes severe joint pain and limitations for at least one in five of them, according to new CDC data released today at a congressional briefing hosted by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the Arthritis Foundation.

The study, published in the Feb. 18 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, is the first of its kind to report on the prevalence of arthritis in a nationally representative sample of seven specific Hispanic sub-groups, including Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, South and Central Americans, Dominicans and Cubans. Among the key findings:

An estimated 3.1 million Hispanics have arthritis.
- Puerto Ricans reported the highest prevalence (22 percent), which is similar to the prevalence for non-Hispanic whites (23 percent) and blacks (22 percent).
- Cubans/Cuban Americans reported the lowest prevalence (12 percent).
The study looked at the prevalence of three significant arthritis-attributable effects: severe joint pain, activity limitations, and work limitations. While the prevalence varied across Hispanic sub-groups, at least one in five people in each sub-group reported each of the three effects.
- Mexicans reported the highest work limitations.
- Puerto Ricans reported the most joint pain and highest activity limitations.

"These findings suggest a critical need to expand the reach of effective strategies aimed at arthritis prevention and management, particularly among underserved populations," said Dr. John H. Klippel, president and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation.

According to Dr. Jane L. Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, "Seeing your health provider, engaging in movement, maintaining a healthy weight, and learning techniques to manage arthritis can dramatically improve lives. However, it is only by tailoring services to the needs of individuals that we will achieve this goal. Today's first-ever data from the CDC on arthritis and Hispanic sub-groups is an important step in that effort."

"Hispanics are the nation's largest group after non-Hispanic whites, and will account for nearly a third of our population by 2050. That is why it's important to understand how arthritis – the most common cause of disability – affects their lives and their work," said Dr. Wayne H. Giles, director of the Division of Adult and Community Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This study advances that understanding and will help us to target our limited resources in ways that maximize the impact public health measures can have on improving the lives of Hispanics with arthritis."

Resources for Managing Arthritis

To beat the pain and disability of arthritis and learn strategies for controlling arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and the CDC offer the following resources:

See a health provider. Early diagnosis of arthritis is critical to its management and prevention of activity limitations. The Alliance offers a toll-free bilingual (Spanish and English) Su Familia National Hispanic Family Health Helpline (1-866-783-2645 or 1-866-SU-FAMILIA) where individuals can receive trusted health information and referral to health providers, including community health centers, in their community.
Engage in exercise. Low impact exercise, such as walking, has been proven to reduce pain, improve function and quality of life, and delay arthritis-related disability. For joint-safe exercise programs, try the Arthritis Foundation's Life Improvement Series land or water exercise programs offered at more than 1,700 locations nationwide.
Maintain a healthy weight. Extra weight adds unnecessary weight on your joints. For every pound you lose, that's four pounds of pressure off each knee. The Alliance is supporting Hispanic families making movement a daily part of their lives and improving access to healthy food through their Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving! ® free event series. With over 50,000 attendees to date, it is the largest annual Hispanic family healthy lifestyle event series. To learn more, visit www.getupgetmoving.org (English) or www.vivetuvida.org (Spanish).
Discover techniques to manage your arthritis. Participate in self-management courses in English or Spanish to learn how to manage the pain and challenges that arthritis imposes. Recent studies have proven that The Arthritis Foundation Self-Help Course teaches people how to have a stronger sense of control over their arthritis.
Learn more. To learn more about programs offered in your area and to order free educational materials, visit http://www.arthritis.org, http://www.hispanichealth.org/ and http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/index.htm

About the Arthritis Foundation

Striking one in every five adults and 300,000 children, arthritis is the nation's leading cause of disability. The Arthritis Foundation (www.arthritis.org) is committed to raising awareness and reducing the impact of this serious disease, which can severely damage joints and rob people of living life to its fullest. The Foundation funds life-changing research that has restored mobility in patients for more than six decades; fights for access to quality health care for the millions who live with arthritis; and partners with families to provide transformative programs and information.

About the National Alliance for Hispanic Health

The Alliance is the nation's foremost science-based source of information and trusted advocate for the health of Hispanics in the United States. The Alliance represents thousands of Hispanic health providers across the nation providing services to more than 15 million each year, making a daily difference in the lives of Hispanic communities and families. For more information, visit www.hispanichealth.org or call the Alliance's Su Familia Hispanic Family Health Helpline at 1-866-783-2645.

Latino siblings of children with developmental disabilities at risk

2011-02-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

New findings from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Latino siblings of children developmental disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism may face their own challenges, including anxiety and lower school performance, according to a new study led by researchers with the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center.

"When a child has a disability, all members of the family are affected, including siblings," said lead author Debra Lobato, Ph.D., of the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center. "However, little attention has been paid to the influence of cultural factors on the functioning of siblings. Our cultural backgrounds influence who we consider to be our siblings, as well as the expectations and relationships we have with our brothers and sisters."

"In order to understand the impact of a child's disability on siblings it is important to understand the social and cultural context in which they are raised," Lobato added.

According to the study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, now available online, Latino children who have a brother or sister with developmental disabilities experienced significantly more symptoms of internalizing psychological disorders, such as anxiety, than comparison children. These siblings also had more problems with their adjustment and coping skills including difficulties with their relationships, particularly with their parents. Latino children showed a greater reluctance to express any negative experiences or feelings that they had about their siblings' disability. In school, they had more absences and lower academic performances compared to their peers.

Latinos represent the largest minority population in the United States, where they share higher rates of sociodemographic stress, such as poverty, which has been associated with higher rates of anxiety symptoms and disorders among samples of Latino children. Latinos also share significant family-centric cultural values that may heighten the significance of sibling relationships and caretaking responsibilities while discouraging open verbal expression of sibling-related distress.

The study included 100 siblings and parents of children with developmental disabilities, and 100 siblings and parents of typically developing children. Each group was divided evenly between Latinos and non-Latinos. Siblings were between the ages of 8 and 15 years old.

Researchers interviewed siblings, parents and teachers to fully examine the psychological and school functioning of Latino and non-Latino siblings of children with developmental disabilities. Parents or teachers provided copies of the most recent report card for all siblings to gather information about siblings' grades and number of school absences.

According to the findings, Latino siblings of children with a disability were at higher risk for negative outcomes. In addition to experiencing impoverished economic conditions and more difficulties in their personal functioning and relationships, they also reported higher internalizing behaviors – particularly separation anxiety and agoraphobia – and were less likely to express their emotions.

"We can only speculate about why Latino brothers and sisters of special needs children respond by internalizing their emotions," said Lobato, adding that there may be both direct (e.g. sibling worry about their brother or sister) as well as indirect (disruptions in the parent-sibling relationship) ways that a child's disability affects Latino siblings.

When researchers looked at school functioning, they found Latino siblings of children with developmental disabilities had significantly more school absences, which their parents were more likely to attribute to the child with the disability. Greater family obligations, such as providing translation for parents at their sibling's medical appointments, as well as siblings' anxiety regarding separation from their parents may have influenced school attendance. Siblings were also less likely to have above average or excellent grades in language arts compared to other children in the study, which appeared to be unrelated to language proficiency.

According to researchers, this combination of greater anxiety, worse attendance and lower performance may place Latino siblings of children with developmental disabilities at risk for poor academic outcomes.

Lobato says the study's findings have clinical implications for children with developmental disabilities – especially among Latino families, where siblings appear to be most vulnerable.

"Our findings suggest that family-based, culturally sensitive services acknowledge the importance of siblings every step of the way," she said. "This might include proactively conducting screening assessments of sibling functioning as well as active consideration of siblings' perspectives and needs when treatment plans are developed and renewed."

Liver Cancer Rapidly Increasing in California Hispanic Men

2011-02-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Rates are higher among US-born than non-US-born Hispanic men

FREMONT, Ca. --Thirty-year-old Pedro Espinosa's chances of developing liver cancer just skyrocketed. Born in the United States and of Hispanic descent, Pedro falls into a category of men in California whose liver cancer rates have nearly doubled over the past two decades, according to a recent study.

Scientists at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) have found that rates of liver cancer in US-born Hispanic men in California have increased by 87%, according to a recent 16-year span of statewide cancer registry data. These men are at a significantly higher risk of liver cancer than California Hispanic men born outside of the United States. Liver cancer risk is also higher among both Hispanic males and females in more ethnically isolated and lower income areas of the state.

The results of this study, which is the first to examine liver cancer rates by neighborhood acculturation level and socioeconomic status, were recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

"California Health Interview Survey data show that levels of obesity and alcohol abuse are higher in US-born than foreign-born Hispanic men. The next steps are to find out what other liver cancer risk factors differ by birthplace, and then develop ways to target those factors especially in US-born Hispanic men to lower their risk of liver cancer," said CPIC Research Scientist Ellen Chang, Sc.D., who led the study.

For information on the work of Dr. Chang and her collaborators, go to www.cpic.org/research_news.

About the Cancer Prevention Institute of California

The Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) is the nation's premier organization dedicated to preventing cancer and to reducing its burden where it cannot yet be prevented. Formerly known as the Northern California Cancer Center, CPIC tracks patterns of cancer throughout the entire population and identifies those at risk for developing cancer. Its research scientists are leaders in investigating the causes of cancer in large populations to advance the development of prevention-focused interventions. CPIC's innovative cancer prevention research and cancer education and community partnership programs, together with the Stanford Cancer Center, deliver a comprehensive arsenal for defeating cancer. For more information, visit CPIC's official website at www.cpic.org.

SOURCE Cancer Prevention Institute of California

Hispanic women focus of cancer study

2010-05-04T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hutchinson center gets $10M to study cancer in Hispanic women
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), May 3, 2010

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle said it’s been awarded a $10.2 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study breast cancer disparities in Hispanic women.

Principal investigator for the initiative will be Beti Thompson, a member of the center’s public health sciences division. Her research topics include finding ways to improve mammography screening rates among Seattle-area Latinas and understanding the relationship between dietary patterns and risk of obesity in Hispanic women, the center said.

“Once Latinas come to live in this country, within a generation their risk of breast cancer increases tremendously and approaches that of non-Hispanic whites, so we think something about their lifestyle before they immigrate to the U.S. protects them,” Thompson said in a statement.

The funds come from the National Institutes of Health’s Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities program.

Eye disease rates high among Latinos

2010-05-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

Eye disease rates high among Latino Americans
usnews.com, Healthday, May 1

(HealthDay News) -- Latino Americans have higher rates of visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease and cataracts than whites in the United States, researchers have found.

The analysis included data from more than 4,600 participants in the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES). Most of the study participants were of Mexican descent and aged 40 and older. In the four years after the participants enrolled in the study, the Latinos' rates of visual impairment and blindness were the highest of any ethnic group in the country, compared to other U.S. studies of different populations.

Nearly 3 percent of the study participants developed visual impairment and 0.3 percent developed blindness in both eyes. Among those aged 80 and older, 19.4 percent became visually impaired and 3.8 percent became blind in both eyes.

The study also found that 34 percent of participants with diabetes developed diabetic retinopathy (damage to the eye's retina), with the highest rate among those aged 40 to 59. The longer someone had diabetes, the more likely they were to develop diabetic retinopathy -- 42 percent of those with diabetes for more than 15 years developed the eye disease.

Participants who had visual impairment, blindness or diabetic retinopathy in one eye at the start of the study had high rates of developing the condition in the other eye, the study authors noted.

The researchers also found that Latinos were more likely to develop cataracts in the center of the eye lens than at the edge of the lens (10.2 percent versus 7.5 percent, respectively), with about half of those aged 70 and older developing cataracts in the center of the lens.

"This study showed that Latinos develop certain vision conditions at different rates than other ethnic groups. The burden of vision loss and eye disease on the Latino community is increasing as the population ages, and many eye diseases are becoming more common," Dr. Rohit Varma, principal investigator of LALES and director of the Ocular Epidemiology Center at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California, said in a news release from the U.S. National Eye Institute.

The findings are published in four reports in the May issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

"These data have significant public health implications and present a challenge for eye care providers to develop programs to address the burden of eye disease in Latinos," Dr. Paul A. Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, said in the news release.

The U.S. National Eye Institute provided funding for LALES.

More information: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about eye disorders.

Cancer risk factors differ for Hispanics

2010-04-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

Cancer Risk Factors Differ for Hispanics, Non-Hispanic
HealthDay News, Apr 26, 2010

Breast cancer risk factors that have been established in non-Hispanic white (NHW) women have less influence on the risk of breast cancer in Hispanic women, according to a study published online April 26 in Cancer.

Lisa M. Hines, of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and colleagues conducted a population-based, case-control study of Hispanic and NHW women in the southwestern United States. Cases were women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1999 and 2002; controls were same-ethnicity, age-matched women without breast cancer.

Overall, the researchers found that NHW women had a higher incidence of breast cancer compared with Hispanic women for every age group examined. Risk factors which had associations with breast cancer among NHW premenopausal women but not among Hispanic premenopausal women included taller height and positive family history. For postmenopausal women, risk factors for NHWs included recent estrogen plus progestin use and younger age at menarche, but these associations were weaker or did not exist for Hispanic women. Sixty-two to 75 percent of breast cancers were attributed to evaluated risk factors in NHW women, but only 7 to 36 percent in Hispanic women. In addition, Hispanic women were more likely to have characteristics linked to lower risk, such as younger age at first birth, more children, shorter height, less hormone use, and less alcohol consumption.

"These findings reflect the need for additional studies to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence breast cancer development among Hispanics and in other ethnic and racial populations," the authors conclude.

Latinos at high risk of heart attack

2010-04-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Many in U.S. Have at Least 1 Heart Risk Factor
By Katrina Woznicki, WebMD Health News

April 26, 2010 -- Nearly half of the U.S. population has at least one of three diagnosed or undiagnosed chronic conditions -- high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes -- all major risk factors for heart disease, the leading cause of death among Americans, according to a new CDC study.

Data collected from the ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey shows that 45% of Americans had one of these three conditions either diagnosed or undiagnosed; 13% of adults had two of these conditions, and 3% had all three conditions. CDC researchers also found that 15% of adults also had one or more of these conditions undiagnosed.

It is well known that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes all increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, a condition that affects more than 81 million Americans and accounts for one out of every three deaths in the U.S. What is less known is the co-existence of these three conditions based on race/ethnicity, as well as the prevalence of diagnosed vs. undiagnosed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes among these groups.

The study shows that about 8% of adults have undiagnosed high blood pressure, 8% have undiagnosed high cholesterol, and 3% of have undiagnosed diabetes. The proportion of adults with these undiagnosed conditions was similar across racial/ethnic groups.

The study also shows that:

- Non-Hispanic blacks had a much higher prevalence of high blood pressure (42.5%) when compared with non-Hispanic whites (29.1%) and Mexican-Americans (26.1%).
- Non-Hispanic whites had a higher prevalence of high cholesterol (26.9%) when compared with non-Hispanic blacks (21.5%) and Mexican-Americans (21.8%).
- Mexican-Americans and non-Hispanic blacks had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes -- 15.3% and 14.6%, respectively, compared with 9.9% among non-Hispanic whites.

The CDC researchers also found that non-Hispanic blacks were more likely than non-Hispanic whites and Mexican-Americans to have at least one of the three conditions either diagnosed or undiagnosed.

The findings could help public health policy authorities develop more targeted prevention and treatment guidelines for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

The impact of these three conditions individually is substantial:

- An estimated 18 million Americans have diagnosed diabetes and 5.7 million Americans have undiagnosed diabetes.
- More than 102 million U.S. adults have elevated cholesterol levels -- meaning a total blood cholesterol measurement of 200 mg/dL or higher -- and 35.7 million among this group have cholesterol levels 240 mg/dL or higher and are considered high risk.
- High blood pressure accounted for more than 56,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2006; about 74.5 million people age 20 and older have high blood pressure.

Two-thirds of Latino women considered obese

2010-04-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

'BMI is not one size fits all' for women and obesity
By Randy Dotinga, HealthDay

A new study says federal guidelines on obesity should be revised so more women fit into the category of "obese."

U.S. guidelines determine who is obese based on body-mass index, a measurement of whether a person's height and weight are proportional. The researchers found that about half the women of reproductive age considered obese under World Health Organization guidelines — which use body-fat analysis instead — were not obese under federal guidelines.

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Under the international guidelines, about half of white women and more than two-thirds of Latino women are considered obese.

"It is especially important to accurately assess obesity in reproductive-age women, as they are more likely to be obese than similarly aged men," study author Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, an assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said in a news release from the school. "These women are at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other obesity-related health conditions, and may forgo or be overlooked for needed tests and treatments."

"BMI is not 'one size fits all.' Inaccurate classification can decrease the impact of obesity prevention programs that will result in many women not receiving the help they need," study senior author Dr. Abbey Berenson, director of the university's Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health, said in the news release.

The researchers predict that further studies will show similar results for men and other age groups.

The study appears online in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Latinos need to consume more Omega-3 fatty acids

2010-04-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Omega-3 fatty acids are key to a healthier life
By Emily Sohn Special to the Los Angeles Times, April 26, 2010

Pregnant women need them for their babies' brains. Kids need them to learn. Adults get healthier hearts from them. The do-it-all nutrients known as omega-3 fatty acids appear to reduce pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis — and may help treat autism, bipolar disorder, depression, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD and prostate cancer.

Even dogs and cats need omega-3s to stay healthy.

So eat more fish. Take fish oil pills (or their vegetarian counterparts). Start buying fortified foods. However you do it, you — like most Americans — could likely benefit from getting more omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA and EPA.

"There's very strong, medical-nutrition, literature-based evidence in humans suggesting that the average American would probably have a healthier life, a lower risk of dying from heart disease and improved brain function by consuming more fish, more supplements or more functional foods with DHA and EPA," says nutritional scientist Bruce Holub, of the University of Guelph in Ontario and executive director of the DHA/EPA Omega-3 Institute there.

But keep in mind, omega-3 fatty acids are not just a single nutrient. The term refers to a family of compounds that are naturally abundant in fish, seafood and algae, and it's their surprising chemical variety that may hold the key to improving our health.

Increasing evidence suggests that each type of omega-3 plays a different role. The benefits depend on the amount, one's life stage and specific medical conditions. Such complexity is something that guidelines, at least in the United States, don't yet reflect.

Researchers are still trying to clarify the details, but some health experts already are pushing for clearer recommendations that will help people reap the benefits of omega-3s without wasting money on useless varieties.

"There are strong indications that requirements for many groups should be higher and that there should be specific requirements for different types of omega-3s," says Bruce A. Watkins, professor of food science at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and director of the International Omega-3 Learning and Education Consortium for Health and Medicine, an educational resource.

The various types

Omega-3 fatty acids are long chains of carbon atoms that bond to each other in different ways to produce molecules with various functions. Out of the five forms that we consume, the three that matter most to human health are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

Of those three, ALA is the only form that is specified in the United States' official guidelines with a dietary reference intake. According to the Institute of Medicine, men should consume 1.6 grams of the fatty acid a day. Women should get 1.1 grams.

Most Americans easily consume that much. Sources include flax, canola oil, soybean oil, olive oil, walnuts and other plant-based fats, many of which people eat every day. There are 1.3 grams of ALA in a tablespoon of canola oil and 7.6 grams in a tablespoon of flaxseed oil.

The problem is that, on its own, ALA has no known function in the body. The only reason it's required, Holub says, is because the human body can convert a small amount of ALA to DHA and EPA, which are far more essential for healthy brains, hearts and other bodily functions. The amount that gets converted, however, is not nearly enough.

Accumulating evidence now suggests that it is far more important to consume DHA and EPA directly — in amounts ranging from 200 milligrams to 4 grams a day, depending on the person. Salmon, herring, sardines and other oily varieties of fish have large amounts. Seafood, algae and meat have lesser amounts.

Although flaxseed doesn't appear to convey the benefits of fish oil, some algae contain omega-3s that are just as potent as those in fish. Further, fortified products contain omega-3s derived from the aquatic plants.

The health effects

Interest in fish-based omega-3s spiked in the 1970s, when scientists observed that Inuit people of Greenland ate tons of fatty fish but had extremely low rates of heart disease.

Decades later, in a landmark study published in 1999, Italian scientists studied more than 11,000 men who had suffered heart attacks. After 31/2 years, a group that took about a gram a day of EPA and DHA were 20% less likely to die than a group that didn't take omega-3 supplements.

In an even larger trial in 2007, Japanese researchers followed more than 18,000 people with high cholesterol for nearly five years and found that those who took 1.8 grams of EPA a day — in addition to cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins — were almost 20% less likely to suffer a major coronary event than people who took statins alone.

Those trials build on hundreds of smaller, more focused studies that clearly link EPA and DHA with heart health. (EPA and DHA are usually measured, and taken, together.)

For example, Holub says, studies show that for every extra gram of EPA and DHA a person takes per day, triglyceride levels drop by 8%, with benefits showing up in just two weeks. High triglyceride levels are a major risk factor for heart disease in Americans older than 35. Taking 2 to 4 grams of EPA and DHA a day for a couple of weeks could reduce levels in the blood by up to 32% in people with high triglyceride levels.

While EPA and DHA are both essential for heart health — they seem to lower blood pressure, reduce fat levels in the blood, slow the development of clots and avert abnormal heart rhythms, among other things — DHA is the star player in the developing brain and eyes.

Studies show that women who eat at least four servings of fish a week or take supplements of up to 1.1 grams of DHA daily while pregnant have kids with higher IQ scores through age 4. Their babies have lower rates of allergies, better sleep patterns and better vision. DHA-fortified moms also have lower rates of postpartum depression.

How they work

Scientists have yet to work out many of the details about how omega-3s work their magic, but inflammation is probably one clue, at least for some conditions. That would explain why high doses of DHA and EPA on top of more traditional medicines can reduce morning stiffness and joint pain in arthritis patients and can help reduce the amount of pain medication people need to take.

Brain-based disorders are another area of interest. Some studies have found lower blood levels of omega-3s in adults with Alzheimer's and kids with ADHD than in comparable groups without those problems.

"All of these pathologies are about things that have to do with cells misbehaving," says Philip Calder, a nutritionist and omega-3 researcher at the University of Southampton in England. "You can make cells behave more optimally by having enough omega-3 fatty acids. Then tissues behave properly, and you don't have these manifestations of disease."

To some extent, consumers are catching on. In a recent survey of more than 6,000 people who already take supplements, 74% took fish oil or other types of omega-3 supplements last year, making them more popular than multivitamins, found ConsumerLab.com, an independent health-products testing company.

And in 2009, sales of products enriched with omega-3s, omega-6s and omega-9s jumped by 42% compared with 2008, according to market research firm Nielsen.

Looking ahead

To date, however, most Americans don't appear to be getting nearly enough omega-3s.

Americans consume fish an average of only once every 10 days, Holub says, and 50% don't consume fish over a seven-day period. Supplements, meanwhile, are not a universal dietary staple. As a result, he points out, the average intake of DHA and EPA in the U.S. is an eighth of what people normally get in Japan and a quarter of what many experts now think we need.

Food labels aren't especially helpful. The packaging on a box of granola bars or loaf of bread might tout omega-3s even though they contain a form that doesn't do much in the body or their concentrations of nutrients might be too small to make a difference.

And even when detailed information is available, it's not always clear how much a given individual should get.

Regardless, consumption needs to rise, nutrition experts say.

"Why have societies consumed fish for so many centuries?" Watkins says. "I think we're just beginning to understand the benefits."

Health seminars for Hispanic seniors

2010-03-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

UnitedHealthcare to Offer Seniors Hispanic-Centered Medicare Education Seminars
The Latino Journal, Vol. 3, Issue 9

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Next month, UnitedHealthcare will offer two free Medicare education seminars aimed at helping Hispanic-American seniors understand the basics of Medicare. Following the seminar, seniors are encouraged to take a free Zumba® Gold class, a Latin-infused fitness program that blends the rhythms of merengue, salsa, cumbia, rumba, and tango.

UnitedHealthcare will offer these seminars in Spanish so participants feel comfortable and engaged when learning about their health care options. There are approximately 217,182 Hispanic-American seniors living in Monterey County who are eligible for Medicare.

"Seniors will receive health care information in a simple, clear manner, and they can also actively participate in the seminar so they feel confident in their health care decisions," said Susan Morisato, president, Ovations Insurance Solutions - UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Supplement business.

The Medicare education seminars will provide information on how Medicare works, who is eligible for Medicare, and the differences between Medicare Part A, B, C, and D. Seniors attending the Zumba® Gold fitness class will find a low-impact aerobic workout tailored for the older adult. Seniors should dress comfortably and wear sneakers.

UnitedHealthcare, the insurer of AARP® Medicare Supplement insurance plans, will conduct two educational seminars:

Wednesday, April 7th
9:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
City of Salinas Community Center
940 North Main Street
Salinas, CA 93906

Seniors interested in learning more about the Medicare education program should call 1-866-305-0081.

About UnitedHealthcare – Ovations Insurance Solutions

Ovations Insurance Solutions, a UnitedHealth Group business unit, is the nation's largest provider of Medicare supplemental insurance programs for Medicare beneficiaries. The portfolio of insurance plans offers affordable and accessible health care products and services to members of AARP through plans that carry the AARP name, which are underwritten by UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare pays a fee to AARP and its affiliate for use of the AARP trademark and other services. Amounts paid are used for the general purposes of AARP and its members. Neither AARP nor its affiliate is the insurer.

Health Care Reform and Hispanics

2010-03-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

How Health Care Reform Will Benefit Hispanic Americans
By Lesley Russell, Karen Davenport | Americanprogressaction.org, March 26, 2010

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the recently passed reconciliation bill makes important contributions toward addressing Hispanic Americans’ health care needs. Measures that help these individuals in particular include:

• Expanding health coverage to as many people as possible and providing financial assistance to help those with lower incomes purchase coverage
• Improving access to primary care and “medical homes” to ensure a regular source of care and care coordination
• Expanding access to community health centers
• Focusing on disease prevention and health promotion
• Enhancing the quality of health care services
• Improving the health care workforce’s distribution and cultural competency
• Collecting data to better measure the effectiveness of these initiatives

Expanded health insurance coverage

Hispanics have the highest uninsured rate of any racial or ethnic group within the United States. A 2009 Gallup poll found that 41.7 percent of American Hispanics aged 18 and over lacked health insurance, compared to the national average of 16.0 percent and 11.6 percent of white Americans. Health reform will take several steps to improve health insurance coverage among Hispanics.

• Hispanic Americans currently without health insurance will be able to purchase coverage through health insurance exchanges, with sliding scale subsidies to help low- and moderate-income families.
• Out-of-pocket expenses will be limited to prevent an illness from ruining a family financially.
• Small businesses will receive help with costs related to health insurance coverage, while larger employers will face new incentives for providing coverage, thus increasing the number of Latinos likely to receive coverage through their employment.
• Medicaid will cover all adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (roughly $14,400 for a single adult)—including those without dependent children.
• Health insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions or rescinding coverage when people get sick.

Better preventive health services

Twenty-one percent of older Hispanics have diabetes compared to 14.3 percent of whites. Hispanic elders are much more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes due to poor diabetes control, and they are far less likely to receive pneumonia or flu shots or participate in cancer screening services. Better access to prevention and early interventions would help keep the Hispanic population healthier throughout their lives.

• Insurance plans will be required to offer 100 percent coverage of approved preventive services such as immunizations, cancer screenings, and diabetes testing.
• States will have new incentives to improve prevention and wellness services for Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as access to new funding for innovative demonstration projects to reduce childhood obesity.
• PPACA waves Medicare co-payments for most preventive services and fully covers an annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plans for people with Medicare coverage.
• The new health reform law also provides funding for a home visit program to at-risk families with young children, based on the Nurse-Family Partnership program. This nurse home-visiting program improves the health, well-being, and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time mothers and their children.

Improved access to a primary care provider and usual source of care

Half of Hispanics do not have a regular doctor, compared with only one-fifth of whites, and almost half of low-income Hispanics lack a usual source of care. PPACA’s emphasis on improving primary care will particularly benefit Hispanics.

• Primary care primary care capacity will be boosted through a range of investments and payment incentives, including a 10 percent Medicare bonus payment for primary care and general surgeons; an additional 10 percent Medicare bonus for primary care physicians practicing in health professional shortage areas; and graduate medical education reforms that redistribute residency positions, promote training in outpatient settings, and support the development of primary care training programs.
• The new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will develop and expand the medical home model for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Medical homes—health care settings that provide patients with timely, well-organized care and enhanced access to providers—are associated with a reduction in health care disparities for adults and better access to preventive services.
• New funding will establish more community health centers to provide comprehensive, affordable care that is responsive and customized to the low-income, racial, and ethnic minority communities they serve.
• The operation and development of school-based health clinics will provide care to children in medically underserved areas.

More culturally sensitive care

People with limited English proficiency are less likely to have a regular source of primary care and receive preventive care. They are also generally less satisfied with the care they do receive, more likely to report overall problems with care, and may be at increased risk of experiencing medical errors.

• PPACA provides grants to states, public health departments, clinics, and hospitals to promote the use of community health workers in medically underserved areas. Community health workers create a bridge between providers of health, social, and community services and the underserved and hard-to-reach populations they serve. They make referrals to health care providers and social services, provide culturally appropriate health education and information, offer informal counseling and guidance on health behaviors, and advocate for individual and community health needs.
• The new health reform law will address the low numbers of health professionals from minority communities through additional scholarship and loan repayment opportunities for disadvantaged students who commit to work in medically underserved areas and who serve as faculty in participating institutions. It also expands the allowable uses of the nurse diversity program.
• PPACA reauthorizes and expands programs to support the development, evaluation, and dissemination of model curricula for cultural competency at health professional schools and in continuing education programs.

Tackling health quality and health care disparities

Defining and measuring health care disparities is a prerequisite for addressing them. High-quality data are essential to helping organizations understand and remedy racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

• PPACA requires federally funded programs to collect and report data on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health literacy, and primary language. It also requires that federally funded population surveys collect statistically reliable data based on race, ethnicity, primary language, and disability in order to compare health disparities populations. PPACA extends the existing requirements for the collection of Medicare health disparities data to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
• The new law formally establishes the Office of Minority Health at the Department of Health and Human Services and a network of minority health offices located within HHS. It also elevates the Office of Minority Health at the National Institutes of Health directly into the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This raised profile will help with the implementation and evaluation of minority health programs.

Conclusion

PPACA makes significant advances for Hispanics’ health coverage, quality of care, and access to health care services. It represents an important milestone toward the ultimate goal of eradicating racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care in the United States.

Hispanic women more likely to breast-feed

2010-03-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Black Women Least Likely to Breast-Feed in U.S.
By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, March 25, 2010

(HealthDay News) -- Messages about the health-boosting powers of breast-feeding aren't reaching black American women as well as their Hispanic or white counterparts, a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests.

The researchers found that while more than 80 percent of Hispanic mothers attempt to breast-feed, and about 74 percent of white moms do, that number falls to 54 percent for black mothers. And one year after delivery, only about 12 percent of black women are still breast-feeding their child as recommended, compared to 24 percent of Hispanic women and more than 21 percent of white women.

The American Academy of Pediatrics currently recommends that babies be breast-fed exclusively for the first six months of life, and that non-exclusive breast-feeding continue for at least six months thereafter.

"We have seen before that there are racial/ethnic differences in breast-feeding," noted study coauthor Cria Perrine, from the CDC's division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity.

"Hispanics have the highest rates of breast-feeding closely followed by whites and there tends to be a pretty big gap with blacks," she said.

The report is published in the March 26 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

For the study, Perrine's team analyzed data from the 2004-2008 National Immunization Survey on breast-feeding among different groups and also on state-to-state variations.

Breast-feeding among racial/ethnic groups also varied by state, particularly among black women, with the highest rates of breast-feeding among blacks seen in western states and the lowest in southeastern states, Perrine said.

The reasons for the disparities are not totally clear, Perrine said. "We definitely need more research in that area," she noted.

"There is some suggestion that blacks are more comfortable with formula feeding and prefer to formula feed. There is also some suggestion that blacks return to work earlier than whites after giving birth and maybe the work environment is not supporting them enough to continue to breast-feed," she said.

Among Hispanics, breast-feeding is the cultural norm, Perrine noted. "In their countries of origin, breast-feeding is just the natural way of life."

However, after coming to the United States there is some loss of that tradition, with more Hispanic women favoring formula feeding, she said.

"We probably need more public health messages about the importance of breast-feeding and more support for breast-feeding in general -- in the hospital, in returning to work," she said.

Dr. Lourdes Q. Forster, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said that the findings are "encouraging to some degree since we know that national estimates have improved since the 1990s."

Overall, the number of women breast-feeding is approaching the Healthy People 2010 goal of 75 percent of new mothers starting breast-feeding and 50 percent continuing for at least six months, she pointed out.

"But the most striking thing is, unfortunately, the rate in blacks hasn't really changed much," Forster said.

"The reason that's important is that breast-feeding has been shown to improve infant health as well as maternal health. It significantly reduces rates of infection for certain illnesses in infants. It reduces the amount of emergency room visits they may have. Overall, it's the perfect nutrition for the first six months of life," she said.

Efforts to get women to breast-feed should start right at the beginning of a pregnancy, Forster said. Women need to make the decision early and prepare for it and also be taught how to breast-feed, she said.

"If we are targeting babies once they're born, we're targeting too late," she said. "What we need to be doing is approaching moms with good prenatal health care and encouraging women from the get-go and giving them information about how important it is to breast-feed. Also, women just don't want to be told it's important -- they want to be shown how to do it."

More information

There's much more on breast-feeding at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Cria Perrine, Ph.D., division of nutrition, physical activity, and obesity, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Lourdes Q. Forster, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; March 26, 2010, CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Younger Hispanic adults sleep habits linked to diabetes

2010-03-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

Sleep habits linked to fat gain in younger adults
Amy Norton, Reuters, Mar 1, 2010

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Younger adults who get either little sleep or a lot of it may see a greater expansion in their waistlines over time, a study published Monday suggests.

Researchers found that among black and Hispanic adults younger than 40, those who typically slept for five hours or less each night had a greater accumulation of belly fat over the next five years, versus those who averaged six or seven hours.

Those who logged eight hours or more in bed each night also showed a bigger fat gain -- but it was less substantial than that seen in "short sleepers."

The study, reported in the journal Sleep, does not prove that too little or too much sleep directly leads to excess fat gain. But the findings support and extend those of other studies linking sleep duration -- particularly a lack of sleep -- to weight gain and even to higher risks of diabetes and heart disease.

The study adds to past research in part because it focused on black and Hispanic Americans -- two understudied groups who are at increased risk of obesity and its related ills, said lead researcher Dr. Kristen G. Hairston, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

It also zeroed in on the relationship between sleep and gains in abdominal fat -- both the superficial fat layers just below the skin and the "visceral" fat that surrounds the abdominal organs. Deep abdominal fat is believed to be particularly important in the risks of health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, Hairston told Reuters Health.

The study included 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American men and women ages 18 to 81. At the outset, all reported on their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors. The researchers used CT scans to measure participants' abdominal fat, at the start of the study and again five years later.

Among participants younger than 40, the study found, those who said they slept for five hours or less each night gained more belly fat than those who averaged six or seven hours of sleep.

On average, short sleepers showed a 32 percent gain in visceral fat, versus a 13 percent gain among those who slept six or seven hours per night, and a 22 percent increase among men and women who got at least eight hours of sleep each night.

A similar pattern was seen with superficial abdominal fat. Even when the researchers considered factors like calorie intake, exercise habits, education and smoking, sleep duration itself remained linked to abdominal-fat gain.

The findings, according to Hairston, support the belief that sleep habits affect weight, and health in general. "Sleep is an important part of your overall health -- not just in whether you're tired during the day," she said.

Individuals vary in their sleep needs, so there is no one set prescription. But "extremes of sleep," such as less than five hours per night, should raise concerns, according to Hairston. "And if you're concerned about your sleep," she said, "discuss it with your healthcare provider, just as you would discuss diet or exercise."

As for why sleep duration might affect abdominal-fat gain, there are several theories.

There may be indirect effects; people who get too little sleep may be too tired during the day to exercise, while those who spend a lot of time in bed may spend less time being active, relative to people who sleep fewer hours.

Research also suggests that sleep loss alters people's levels of appetite-regulating hormones -- which could, in theory, spur them to overeat.

Depression, which often affects people's sleep and has been linked to weight gain, could also be a factor, Hairston noted. She and her colleagues had no information on study participants' depression symptoms.

Latinos not convinced of vaccines

2010-03-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Child vaccine safety concerns persist
Baltimore Sun, March 1, 2010

While the vast majority of parents believe vaccines protect their children from life-threatening illnesses, many continue to have concerns about the safety of childhood vaccines, according to a new national survey.

More than half -- 54 percent -- of the 1,552 parents surveyed said they have serious worries about adverse affects and overall vaccine safety, according to the findings, appearing today in the journal Pediatrics. And nearly 1 in 8 parents said they refused to have their child vaccinated against at least one recommended vaccine.

News of the 2009 survey comes just a month after the Lancet retracted a controversial article from a dozen years ago that first linked the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine to autism, sparking a global panic over the safety of routine childhood inoculations.

Nevertheless, more than 1 in 5 parents believe that some vaccines cause autism, the survey found. The study calls that figure "disturbingly high."

Well before the Lancet retraction, the evidence had been stacking up for years: study after study showed child vaccines are safe and effective ways at preventing a host of horrible diseases. So why so much fear among parents?

Many simply aren't getting the correct information, the paper states. Public health education campaigns are clearly falling short and more aggressive outreach is needed, said the study's authors, a team of University of Michigan researchers.

Of course, the survey is limited by it's small sample size. Still, it drives home a fascinating debate.

In addition, it had a few interesting demographic tidbits: Latino parents were more likely than whites or blacks to believe that vaccines cause autism. And black parents were more likely than whites or Latinos to have refused a pediatrician-recommended vaccine. Overall, women were more likely to have concerns about childhood vaccines than men.

Those findings should be taken into account when building effective public education programs, the author said.

Latino group supports "Carreras en Salud" program

2010-03-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR GRANTS $3.4 MILLION TO NCLR’S CARRERAS EN SALUD PROGRAM
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 3, Issue 6

Chicago, IL—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, applauds the U.S. Department of Labor for investing in health services training in high-need Chicago communities. The $3.4 million award will be used to fund the Carreras en Salud program, providing low-income, low-skilled Latinos with a structured but flexible, multi-entry career pathway to skilled nursing and health occupations.

“Latinos have been overrepresented in high-unemployment occupations in this and other industries. These types of programs provide entry-level workers with high-demand skills. Latinos represent a growing and needed pool of future health care workers in this rapidly expanding industry, even while the labor force in many other industries is shrinking,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía. “NCLR is thankful to Secretary Solis and the Department of Labor for supporting the Carreras en Salud program, enabling Latinos to find quality jobs that help lift their families out of poverty.”

Carreras en Salud offers integrated services to overcome barriers to employment and career advancement such as job training, career counseling, and assistance in job placement. The program represents a workforce partnership between NCLR and its Chicago-based Affiliates, Instituto del Progreso Latino, Association House of Chicago (AHC), and Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center (HPVEC). Services will be easily accessible, as all three partners are located in Latino communities—HPVEC and AHC in the Humboldt Park/West Town area, and Instituto del Progreso Latino in the Pilsen neighborhood (lower west side).

The grant is an important step on the path to economic recovery in communities that have been hit hardest by the economic recession. Rising unemployment continues to disproportionately affect minority communities. The unemployment rate in December was 16.2% for Blacks and 12.9% for Latinos, compared to 10% nationwide.

Preparing workers for jobs that are readily accessible is essential to narrowing the employment gap between minority and nonminority workers. These important investments must be accompanied by a bold strategy to create jobs in communities of color. Doing so will mean the difference between a strong economic recovery and a jobless tomorrow.

For more information, visit www.nclr.org.

Latino teens targeted for sex ed

2010-02-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

Are Latino Teens Sexual Risk Takers? It's Complicated, Researcher Says
ScienceDaily, Feb. 22, 2010

A University of Illinois researcher advises caution when trying to characterize gender roles and sexual behavior among this country's Latino adolescents and young adults.

"When a recent documentary about U.S. Latinos featured two teen mothers in a 90-minute program, the Latino students in my classes thought it was an unbalanced portrayal of their community -- and they were right!" said Marcela Raffaelli, a U of I professor of human and community development and co-author of a recently published chapter on Latino teen sexuality.

National surveys do show that Latino young people as a group are less likely than their non-Latino peers to use condoms and birth control and are more likely to become pregnant and have a child. But these statistics hide a much more complicated picture, she said.

For one thing, Latinos represent more than 20 different groups, and they live in very different situations in the United States.

"For example, Cuban immigrants who moved to the United States when Castro came to power tended to be very wealthy, and they created an entrepreneurial, successful enclave in Miami. Compare them with Central American immigrants who may be refugees from a civil war in the 1980s. Language, religion, and some aspects of culture are apt to be the same, but socioeconomic status is probably very different, and that's a big predictor of early sexual activity and teen pregnancy," Raffaelli said.

When you adjust for socioeconomic status and other demographic factors, the difference in adolescent sexual behavior between Latinos and other groups largely disappears.

Attempts to understand sexuality among Latino teens are also complicated in that researchers don't have the data to draw conclusions about how cultural factors influence sexuality. "People talk a lot about Latino culture and sexuality, but they typically don't measure cultural variables, such as adherence to cultural norms and attitudes, in their studies," she said.

So what do we know about Latino sexuality and risk taking among teenagers? For one thing, no one really knows how much the traditional gender role attributes of machismo and marianismo -- idealizing the Virgin Mary -- actually influence today's Latino adolescents.

"In traditional Latin cultures, machismo dictates that men be virile and strong and provide for their family. In the United States, when we say macho, often we mean someone's a male chauvinist, but in most Latin cultures, this idea encompasses such positive behavior as being responsible for your family and taking care of your household," she said.

The female ideal of marianismo includes being self-sacrificing, pure, and silent. But the researcher emphasized that few studies have tried to measure the extent to which Latinos adhere to these traditional gender roles and whether cultural beliefs are linked to sexual behavior.

"Also, most research on Latino gender roles and sexuality doesn't take into account that Latin cultures have changed tremendously over the last 20 years as a result of globalization, migration, and changing norms," she added.

Immigrant status also plays a role in teens' sexual risk taking. "For first-generation Latinos, recent immigration seems to be a protective factor. Families tend to bring the practices they had in their home country, and over time there's a shift as they become acculturated. For girls, being an immigrant is protective because Latin American countries are typically more conservative about sexuality than the United States is," she said.

For boys, the opposite pattern may be true because in many Latin American countries men have more freedom to explore their sexuality. In the United States, they might shift to a more conservative pattern, she said.

Scholars in multiple disciplines have described a pattern called the "immigrant paradox" in which immigrants have better outcomes than their U.S.-born counterparts despite their more challenging situations.

"First-generation teens do better in school, get into less trouble, have fewer early pregnancies, and so on, but by the second or third generation, that protective effect dissipates. A lot of immigrant families have tremendous optimism. They think, our life here is difficult, but we're here to improve our children's chances and, besides, things may be worse back home," she said.

"By the third generation, things often look very different -- maybe because of discrimination, bad schools, or socioeconomic factors," she said.

Raffaelli said that she and other researchers are working to update what is known about American Latino families. "Cultural ideals provide general guidelines, but we need recent research to tell us whether people believe in these ideals and how much those beliefs affect behavior," she said.

Raffaeli and co-author Maria I. Iturbide of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln wrote the chapter "Sexuality and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latino Adolescents and Young Adults" for the Handbook of U.S. Latino Psychology.

Latino clinic offers transplant info in Spanish

2010-02-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

Spanish Only, Please: Special Latino Clinic Launched For Potential Abdominal Transplant Patients
The Latino Journal, Vol. 3, Issue 5

NEW YORK -- Latinos in the Bronx and Westchester who have organ failure (kidney, pancreas or liver) now have the option of attending a Montefiore Medical Center specialty clinic on Thursdays, when the entire medical staff is fluent in Spanish.

"We established this unique Latino day at the Montefiore-Einstein Abdominal Transplant Center to help our Spanish-speaking patients understand the transplant procedure more thoroughly. I hope that it will give them a degree of comfort during a stressful time," said Javier Chapochnick Friedmann, MD, a native of Chile who joined Montefiore in 2008 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and director of the pancreas transplant program at Montefiore. "We have a full day of patient education classes and medical evaluations that is the same as on other days at the Transplant Center; the only difference is that all the surgeons, nephrologists, nurses, nutritionists, financial and transplant coordinators speak Spanish." In addition, all educational materials and handbooks and are offered in Spanish.

According to Milan Kinkhabwala, MD, Professor of Surgery and director of the Montefiore Einstein Abdominal Transplant Center, a day dedicated only to Spanish-speaking transplant patients is unique in the Metro New York area, and one that is long overdue. "This reflects our commitment to our community and to ensuring the best possible results for our patients," said Dr. Kinkhabwala. "I hope that all our Spanish speaking patients take advantage of this opportunity." Since its inception in November, 2009 the Latino day at the Transplant Center has grown in popularity as word has spread: the clinic now sees up to 20 patients on any given Thursday.

The most recent faculty recruitment at the Transplant Center brings yet another native Spanish speaker: Graciela De Boccardo, MD, a transplant nephrologist who is a native Argentine. Dr. De Boccardo will be partnering with Dr. Chapochnick Friedmann in the Latino day at the Transplant Center.

Spanish-speaking patients are also always welcome to attend the transplant evaluation sessions any day of the week, when English is spoken. All patients are seen in a brand new suite of offices at the Moses campus of Montefiore, on Rosenthal 2. Patients who call the general number for the Montefiore-Einstein Abdominal Transplant Center (877.287.3536 for kidney or 877 RXLIVER for liver) will be asked if they would prefer to listen to the phone information in Spanish or English. If they choose Spanish, they can be referred to the Latino clinic on Thursdays.

Given the success of the Thursday kidney and pancreas clinics, Dr. Chapochnick Friedmann hopes to soon expand the Latino day concept to liver transplant patients as well.

Montefiore Medical Center encompasses 126 years of outstanding patient care, innovative medical "firsts," pioneering clinical research, dedicated community service and ground-breaking social activism. A full-service, integrated delivery system caring for patients in the New York metropolitan region and beyond, Montefiore is a 1,491-bed medical center that includes: four hospitals -- the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, the Jack D. Weiler Division, the North Division and The Children's Hospital at Montefiore; a large home healthcare agency; the largest school health program in the U.S.; a 23-site medical group practice integrated throughout the Bronx and Westchester; and, a care management organization providing services to 179,000 health plan members.

In 2008, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore was ranked as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals" in US News & World Report's prestigious annual listing and also received honors in the magazine's 2009 edition. The Leapfrog Group lists Montefiore among the top one percent of all U.S. hospitals based on its strategic investments in sophisticated and integrated healthcare technology.

Montefiore is committed to meeting the healthcare needs of the future through medical education and manages one of the largest residency programs in the country. Montefiore is The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Albert Einstein College of Medicine and has an affiliation with New York Medical College for residency programs at the North Division.

Distinguished centers of excellence at Montefiore include cardiology and cardiac surgery, cancer care, tissue and organ transplantation, children's health, women's health, surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Montefiore is a national leader in the research and treatment of diabetes, headaches, obesity, cough and sleep disorders, geriatrics and geriatric psychiatry, neurology and neurosurgery, adolescent and family medicine, HIV/AIDS and social and environmental medicine, among many other specialties. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org or www.montekids.org.

SOURCE Montefiore Medical Center

The basics of blood pressure

2010-02-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

The basics of blood pressure
By Karen Ravn, L.A. Times, February 8, 2010

Blood circulating through your body moves with a certain force -- that's your blood pressure. This force can be affected by how strongly the heart is pumping and by the size of the vessels the blood is moving through. Blood moves through large arteries into smaller vessels called arterioles, which can expand and contract. When they expand, blood pressure goes down. When they contract, blood pressure goes up. (The body has some very good reasons and complicated systems for doing this.)

How is blood pressure measured? The pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) at two points: when the heart beats (systolic) and when the heart is between beats (diastolic). Usually blood pressure readings are stated with the systolic in front of (or over) the diastolic -- for example, 110/75 mm Hg. Systolic and diastolic pressure are both important, but after you reach 50, systolic becomes more important because it gives a measure of how flexible your blood vessels are -- or are not.

How high should your blood pressure be? Your systolic blood pressure should be less than 120, and your diastolic should be less than 80. If your systolic is 140 or higher, or your diastolic is 90 or higher, you have high blood pressure, also called hypertension. If your systolic is between 120 and 139 or your diastolic is between 80 and 89, you have prehypertension -- meaning you're at risk of developing high blood pressure, and your risk of bad outcomes is already elevated.

If you have diabetes or kidney disease or have had previous cardiovascular problems, such as a heart attack or stroke, 130/80 mm Hg is the threshold for high blood pressure.

Of course, your blood pressure fluctuates all day -- it goes down when you fall asleep at your desk, and it comes back up again (and then some) when your boss yells at you to wake up. The terms "high blood pressure" and "hypertension" refer to a condition in which your blood pressure is chronically higher than it should be.

It could happen that your systolic pressure is too high but your diastolic pressure isn't. That's called isolated systolic hypertension, and it's the most common kind of high blood pressure among older people. Though it used to be considered normal for that age group, doctors now know that treating it can reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. But it's important to lower the systolic pressure without also lowering the diastolic pressure too much -- a too-low diastolic pressure can make the risk of strokes and heart attacks go back up.

How common is high blood pressure? Very. About one-third of all adults in America have high blood pressure. More than half of all those who are 60 or older have it. And among those age 55, more than 90% either have it already or will develop it at some point.

Is high blood pressure curable? Sometimes. For example, blood pressure may go up during pregnancy, then go down again after the baby is born, and it may go up if you take some cold medicines, then go down again if you stop. But in general, high blood pressure is not curable. Even if you treat your high blood pressure and bring it down below 120/80 mm Hg, you still have the condition and still need to treat it.

Is everyone equally likely to have high blood pressure? No. Some factors are beyond your control, including age (as your age goes up, your blood pressure tends to go up too), gender (men are more likely to have high blood pressure than women), race and ethnicity (African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure than Caucasian or Hispanic Americans), salt-sensitivity (African Americans are also more likely to be salt-sensitive) and family history (if your parents or other close relatives have high blood pressure, you have a greater than average risk of developing it too).

But you have control over some other factors, such as how much you weigh, how much salt you consume, how much alcohol you consume, whether or not you smoke, how much exercise you get and how much stress you experience. (Of course, no one says controlling these things is easy.)

How do you know you have high blood pressure? Many people who have it -- more than 20% -- don't know. After all, blood pressure usually has no symptoms itself. But diagnosis is easy, and everyone, of every age, should be checked periodically. Because blood pressure can fluctuate depending on the situation -- for example, the stress of a doctor visit, which is so common it has a name: white coat hypertension -- one bad reading isn't necessarily conclusive. Doctors generally recommend several readings for making a diagnosis.

Latinos losing on healthcare reform

2010-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

All Eyes on Healthcare Reform
Rob Kuznia -- HispanicBusiness Magazine

With one in three U.S. Hispanics lacking health insurance, it's little wonder recent nationwide surveys show that the Hispanic population considers healthcare reform to be the No. 1 issue of the day — surpassing even immigration reform and the economic downturn. Now, with a historic effort underway on Capitol Hill to merge two recently approved health bills — the House's in November and the Senate in late December — the implications for Hispanics are monumental.

Both bills seek to significantly boost the rate of insured Americans, currently at 83 percent. The Senate plan would expand that coverage rate to 94 percent; the House plan, 96 percent. Put another way, the bills would reduce the number of uninsured people in the United States – now standing around 46 million – by between 31 million and 36 million. "I think it's a phenomenal step forward," Dr. Elena Rios, president and CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association, told HispanicBusiness Magazine. "It's really a big opportunity for this country to start decreasing the cost of healthcare."

But Hispanic advocates are far from sanguine. As lawmakers in Washington D.C. gear up for a grueling effort to reconcile the gargantuan bills, major concerns still loom for Hispanic groups. Their worries are numerous, but in general, Hispanic groups tend to be less enthusiastic about the Senate bill. Take the politically thorny issue of illegal immigration. Currently, the Senate bill prohibits illegal immigrants from purchasing — with their own money (and no government subsidies) — health plans on a proposed national insurance exchange. An insurance exchange is a large pool of people that contracts with insurers to lower risk and therefore reduce the premiums of the customers. More.

Hispanic Spanish-speaking moms allow little TV

2010-02-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

Spanish-Speaking Mothers Less Likely to Turn on TV
Kids of English-speaking Hispanic moms spend more time in front of the tube, study finds
Business Week, Feb 2

(HealthDay News) -- Young children of Hispanic mothers whose main language is Spanish watch less TV than children of Hispanic moms who speak mostly English, a U.S. study has found.

Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers surveyed 1,332 Hispanic and white mothers with children aged 4 months to 3 years, and found that children of English-speaking Hispanic mothers watched nearly 2.5 hours of TV per day, compared to about 90 minutes for children of Spanish-speaking mothers.

The difference was especially pronounced in children older than 1 year. In this group, children in English-speaking Hispanic homes spent nearly 60 percent more time watching TV than children with Spanish-speaking mothers. This large difference wasn't evident among children younger than 1 year of age.

The study also found that children aged 1 to 2 years with English-speaking Hispanic mothers spent nearly 60 percent more time watching TV than children of the same age with white mothers. By ages 2 and 3, children of white mothers and English-speaking Hispanic mothers watched about the same amount of TV, but children of Spanish-speaking mothers spent about 30 percent less time in front of the TV.

"Our findings show that what language mom speaks is a greater predictor than ethnicity alone of how much time a young child spends in front of the TV, a nuance that public health experts should recognize if they are to succeed in reducing TV time among these children," lead investigator Dr. Darcy Thompson, a pediatrician at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, said in a news release.

The study findings are published in the February issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Children should have no more than one to two hours of cumulative exposure to TV and other media each day, including movies, Internet, video and computer games, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

More information: The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about children and TV.

Latino takes health care to new levels

2010-02-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

South Sacramento Kaiser official looks back on varied career,
By Anna Tong, The Sacramento Bee, Feb. 1, 2010

Max Villalobos has never taken care of a patient, yet a big part of Kaiser Permanente's South Sacramento Medical Center bears his mark.

Bespectacled and balding, he's the hospital's Mr. Fix-it in a suit. He walks the halls holding doors for patients and asking staff about their families. He'll even stop to pick up a stray bit of trash from the floor.

Villalobos has been the highest-ranking non-physician at Kaiser's south Sacramento hospital for just four years and already has won acclaim for the hospital's advances.

And, as health care executives go, he's probably traveled further than most to get to this point in his career.

Villalobos is one of 11 children in an immigrant family, and he lived through an impoverished childhood in Chihuahua, Mexico, and then in Los Angeles. His father was a day laborer and, later, a butcher.

It took Villalobos 13 years – studying part time and working full time – to finish his education. He's the only one of his siblings to finish college; he also earned a master's degree in health care administration from the University of Southern California.

People who have watched his rise say Villalobos understands his hospital's diverse patient population. The Kaiser center is in an area with one of the region's richest mixes of ethnic cultures and languages.

Under his leadership, Kaiser South Sacramento became the first Kaiser hospital to fully implement a new electronic medical records system and the first to open a Level II trauma center. And Villalobos is overseeing a $300 million expansion.

But what really sets Villalobos apart, observers said, is his commitment to improving the patient experience.

"When we talk about improving patient care, it's not just the medical care," Villalobos said. "Can they find where to park? Are they able to figure out where to go? I try to focus on the little things as well as the big things."

Several years ago, he began a campaign to make all of Kaiser South Sacramento's signs bilingual.

"Imagine you're a Latino patient who's coming into the hospital and not doing well, and you need to find where you're going," he said.

In the Sacramento region, nearly 60 percent of the insured Latino population are Kaiser Permanente members.

Bilingual signs were a simple idea but a huge undertaking. It took three years to replace thousands of signs at the 1 million-square-foot hospital.

Villalobos is no stranger to hard work.

His younger sister, Patricia Appleby, says Villalobos was always serious about work and school. She recalled that his high school job was at a McDonald's, where in 1976 he received $2.15 per hour. As a teenager, he was promoted to supervisor, and helped Patricia get a job.

"When he got me the job at McDonald's, he would say, 'Don't stand around, you need to sweep or mop if you have free time,' " she said.

In 1996, Kaiser Permanente recruited him to be director of sourcing and logistics, and he began working his way up.

Even as a senior vice president, no task seems beneath Villalobos. He's been known to personally mediate confrontations between patients and staff.

If he has a spare minute, he doesn't sit in his office. Instead, he is out doing "rounds," which for this non-doctor means walking around the hospital, checking on staff and patients.

When he was in charge of implementing the hospital's electronic health records pilot program, he spent countless hours on such rounds.

"I wore out three pairs of shoes walking around then," he said.

The electronic medical records program is now so successful that every Kaiser hospital is using it or converting to it. In the process, Kaiser has become the second-largest health care system to use electronic medical records, after the Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals.

It hasn't been easy, though. Some staffers said they just couldn't ever get used to computers. Some cried, and a few even quit over the conversion.

One of those who found it difficult to convert was Nazanin Hassan, a nurse who said Villalobos visited her every day during the process.

"Now I don't think I could go without the electronic system," she said, recalling that because she struggled to learn English as adult, she feared having to learn a new computer language. "But back then, I thought I couldn't do it. Max made me feel like I could."

Because English was his second language, Villalobos says, he understood Hassan's fear.

"I'm sensitive to that," he said. "When I moved to America at age 12 I didn't speak of word of English, and it was just very challenging."

Student blood drive in honor of Latino leader

2010-02-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

WANTED: Student Organizers for the National Cesar E. Chavez Blood Drive Challenge

The National Cesar E. Chavez Blood Drive Challenge is now on 100+ university/college campuses! And we'd like to grow the event further on to every U.S. college/university, including yours! The target date for the blood drive is on or near March 31st, on Cesar E. Chavez’s Birthday. Your local blood center is ready to support you, but they need a student organization to sponsor the event on campus.

Can you help us identify a student organizer on your campus?

I have attached a flyer, the student organizer application, and the photo of last year’s challenge winner.

More info and pic slideshow may be found at: http://www.migrantstudents.org/servicelearning.html

Hispanics in Arkansas not getting equal treatment

2010-01-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hispanics Not Getting Equal Treatment
KATV.com, 01/19/10

Little Rock - A year-long study by a state panel has found that Hispanics in Arkansas are not receiving equal treatment when they receive health care.

The report was released Tuesday by the Arkansas Minority Health Commission. It says 20% of Hispanics say they face longer wait times and that they were treated rudely when going to see a doctor.

Dr. Eddie Ochoa, a pediatrician who practices at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, is one of the study's authors. He says he expected to see gaps in care for Hispanics and other minorities, but was surprised by the number who felt slighted.

State Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, says improvements can be a requirement for health providers receiving government money.

More than 2,300 Arkansans were interviewed for the survey, including 433 Hispanics.

Hispanics victims of alcohol-related homicides

2010-01-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

California Blacks and Hispanics More Likely to Die in Alcohol-Related Homicides
The Latino Journal E-News

In a study published today, Marin Institute researchers concluded that alcohol-related harm is disproportionately worse depending on demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, age, and gender.

"The most striking results came from the race and ethnicity data," explained lead author Mandy Stahre, a PhD student at the University of Minnesota. "Hispanics have a significantly higher alcohol-attributable death rate from homicide than non-Hispanics. Moreover, while Whites and Blacks had similar numbers of traffic fatalities, the alcohol-related homicide rate for Blacks was five times higher than for Whites. This is disturbing because it's similar to data from 20 years ago, indicating that not much progress has been made in reducing racial disparities from alcohol harm," she added.

The first study of its kind in more than 20 years, "Alcohol-related Deaths and Hospitalizations by Race, Gender, and Age in California" is published in The Open Epidemiology Journal, and is co-authored by Mandy Stahre and Michele Simon, research and policy director at Marin Institute.

For the under 21 population, the leading cause of alcohol-related death in California was homicide (263 cases), and the second leading cause was motor vehicle crashes (207). "California estimates are driven by high numbers of underage males who die from homicide," Stahre explained. "For California females under age 21, the leading cause of death mirrors the national culprit - alcohol-attributable motor-vehicle traffic crashes."

"Thanks to widely publicized media campaigns, sometimes funded by the alcohol industry, most people still associate alcohol problems only with drunk driving, but our study showed that the majority of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations were due to chronic illnesses such as liver disease," added co-author Michele Simon.

"The fact that African-Americans, Latinos, and youth are dying in disproportionate numbers from alcohol-related homicides is a wake-up call to California policymakers and the Governor," said Ruben Rodriguez, Executive Director of Pueblo Y Salud and Co-Director of the Los Angeles Coalition on Alcohol Policy (LA-CAP). "The alcohol industry's 'drink responsibly' campaigns are not enough. Big Alcohol should pay its fair share through higher alcohol mitigation fees for prevention programs to reduce the 10,000 annual alcohol-related deaths in California," he added.

To read the entire report visit: MarinInstitute.org

Hispanic E-Commerce Chamber supports heart event

2010-01-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce (HISCEC) Pledges Continued Support for the Children's Heart Foundation (CHF)
The Latino Journal E-News

The Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce recently announced its commitment to the Children's Heart Foundation and its mission to bring health, hope and happiness to children and families impacted by congenital heart defects.

"Most people are unaware that Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs) are the most common birth defect in America, affecting approximately one in one hundred, or 40,000 newborns each year. My baby was born with a CHD. 'Touch a Child's Heart' fundraising campaign is a personal commitment, for me and everyone at the HISCEC, to support the CHF's mission and its valuable contributions to society," Tayde Aburto, HISCEC's CEO, said.

The HISCEC will donate a portion of the proceeds from the organization's 2010 Business and Technology Expo to the CHF. The event will be held at the San Diego Convention Center on September 10th & 11th, 2010. Monies donated to the Children's Heart Foundation help fund research to advance the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the number one birth defect in the United States.

"The Children's Heart Foundation is proud to partner with the Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce in creating renewed hope through the funding of research for children born with congenital heart defects and their families. Through the contributions made as a result of this partnership, critically needed research will be funded, answers to long standing questions will be developed and children's lives will ultimately be saved. We sincerely thank the HISCEC for their commitment with CHF in 'Saving Children's Lives - One Heart at a Time,' " William Foley, Children's Heart Foundation Executive Director, said.

The HISCEC recognizes the value the Children's Heart Foundation offers those they serve and has vowed its continued assistance after The Expo.

Obesity among children tops out

2010-01-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

Obesity Rates Hit Plateau in U.S., Data Suggest
By PAM BELLUCK, NY Times, January 13, 2010

Americans, at least as a group, may have reached their peak of obesity, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Wednesday.

The numbers indicate that obesity rates have remained constant for at least five years among men and for closer to 10 years among women and children — long enough for experts to say the percentage of very overweight people has leveled off.

But the percentages have topped out at very high numbers. Nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent.

“Right now we’ve halted the progress of the obesity epidemic,” said Dr. William H. Dietz, director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the disease control centers. “The data are really promising.

“That said, I don’t think we have in place the kind of policy or environmental changes needed to reverse this epidemic just yet.”

Dr. Dietz said the data probably reflected increased awareness of the obesity problem, especially among women, “who buy food, prepare it and see it, and they’re making changes for themselves that they’re also making for their kids.” He also cited a reduction in “less healthful foods” at school.

Some experts, though, were not optimistic that the leveling off was a result of improved eating and exercise habits.

“Until we see rates improving, not just staying the same, we can’t have any confidence that our lifestyle has improved,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Dr. Ludwig said the plateau might just suggest that “we’ve reached a biological limit” to how obese people could get. When people eat more, he said, at first they gain weight; then a growing share of the calories go “into maintaining and moving around that excess tissue,” he continued, so that “a population doesn’t keep getting heavier and heavier indefinitely.”

Furthermore, Dr. Ludwig said, “it could be that most of the people who are genetically susceptible, or susceptible for psychological or behavioral reasons, have already become obese.”

The numbers, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, are based on national surveys that record heights and weights of a representative sample of Americans. People are considered obese if their body mass index — a ratio of height to weight — is 30 or greater. Someone five and a half feet tall is obese at 186 pounds; a six-foot person is obese at 221 pounds.

Even though the data show an overall plateau for obesity rates, they indicate an increase from 1999 to 2008 in the heaviest boys, ages 6 to 19, primarily whites. Experts speculated that heavy children in environments of unhealthy food and physical inactivity might simply be shifting into the top weight categories because their situation had not improved.

African-American adults have the highest obesity rates — 37 percent among men and nearly 50 percent among women. For Hispanic women, the rate is 43 percent. Hispanic and black children have higher rates than non-Hispanic whites.

Federal health officials had set a goal a decade ago that no more than 15 percent of people would be obese in 2010.

“We aren’t near that, and we haven’t moved in that direction,” said Cynthia L. Ogden, an epidemiologist at the National Center for Health Statistics and an author of the reports.

In addition, 68 percent of adults and nearly one-third of children are considered at least overweight, with a body mass index of 25 or higher. For a 5-foot-8 person, that would be 164 pounds.

Dr. Dietz said he hoped the obesity data would follow what happened with smoking rates, which leveled off before declining. But he said obesity was difficult to address because while “tobacco is a single source, obesity is both physical activity and diet.”

Experts like Steven Gortmaker, a Harvard public health professor, said obesity would decline only with new policies, like penalties and incentives to promote healthier foods and exercise.

“If you look at the reversal of the smoking epidemic,” Dr. Gortmaker said, “substantial change didn’t really happen until there were bans on advertising and limits on consumption through things like taxation. We have to make some substantial changes.”

Too few Hispanic doctors

2009-12-09T12:51:00.000-08:00

Official: Too few minority doctors
Philly.com, Dec. 4, 2009

ATLANTA - New U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin called yesterday for stepped-up efforts in increasing the number of minority physicians.

In one of her first speeches to a large crowd since being sworn in Nov. 3, Benjamin noted that the proportion of U.S. physicians who are minorities was only 6 percent - the same as a century ago. "There's something wrong with that," Benjamin said, addressing a conference on health disparities.

The numbers come from a 2004 estimate of the percentage of U.S. physicians who are black or Hispanic. Blacks and Hispanics account for roughly 28 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2008 Census figures.

Benjamin has not said what her priorities will be during her four-year term. – AP

Hispanic middle-aged men most vulnerable for H1N1

2009-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Middle-Aged Most Vulnerable For H1N1
KCRA, December 3, 2009

Some surprising statistics show that people who have gotten H1N1 in California don't fit the profile of those who have been targeted for the vaccine.

Since April, when the H1N1 outbreak began, 7,300 people have been hospitalized with the flu in California. Of those cases, 366 people have died.

Among those who have died in California, the average age is 42 years old. The average age of those hospitalized with severe cases is 35 years old.

The initial information noted that children were at greatest risk.

Based on information released Thursday, the person who's at greatest risk is a Hispanic man or woman between 35 and 42 years of age who is obese and has lung disease.

Ethnically, 47 percent of H1N1-related fatalities have been Hispanic, 35 percent are white, 8 percent are black and 7 percent are Asian. That's roughly equal to California's racial profile.

What's surprising is that of those people who died as a result of the flu, 85 percent had preexisting medical conditions.

The top risk factor is obesity. More than half the people who died from H1N1 in California were seriously overweight.

After obesity, the other conditions noted in H1N1-related deaths were lung diseases, metabolic diseases and immune disorders.

Adapting To U.S. Culture Helps Latino Men Quit Smoking

2009-12-09T12:46:00.000-08:00

Study: Adapting To U.S. Culture Helps Latino Men Quit Smoking
David Goodhue, All Headline News, Dec. 3, 2009

Houston, Texas (AHN) - Latino men who acclimate to U.S. culture are more likely to quit smoking than their counterparts who resist adapting to the influence of their new country, according to a recent study.

Researchers with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center studied 271 Latino smokers who called a Spanish language smoking cessation quit helpline. The researchers examined the influence of gender and cultural influences in the men's ability to quit.

The researchers said in a statement that the men's number of years and proportion of life spent in the United States, along with English preference for watching news and other television programs were positively linked to their success in quitting smoking.

The researchers said they examined six "acculturation factors" in the study: years in the United States, proportion of life lived in the United States, immigrant/non-immigrant status, language spoken at home, language spoken at work, and preferred media language. Of those, only language spoken at home and at work were not significant, they said.

The study is published in the December issue of Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Older Hispanic women less likely to have children with Down syndrome

2009-12-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

Down syndrome increases among U.S. children
Pediatrics Supersite

Older average maternal age may have contributed to a 31.1% increase in the number of babies born with Down syndrome from 1979 to 2003, researchers believe.

During this time period, the prevalence of Down syndrome at birth increased from 9.0% to 11.8% per 10,000 live births, data pooled from 10 U.S. regions indicated, with prevalence rates five times higher among babies born to mothers who were aged 35 or older compared with younger mothers (38.6 per 10,000 vs. 7.8 per 10,000).

Increased Down syndrome prevalence at birth coupled with an increased median age among individuals with the birth defect (25 years in 1983 vs. 49 in 1997), may have important implications for resource allocation as these children age, according to the researchers.

“Determination of whether health services are meeting the needs of an increasing number of aging individuals with Down syndrome to ensure a healthy life across the life span is likely to require more extensive data linkages of health databases on individuals with Down syndrome,” the researchers wrote. They added that development and maintenance of long-term longitudinal registries will be integral to these efforts.

After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity and gender the researchers determined the following:

- Although prevalence increased with time in each age group, it decreased with age within birth cohorts.
- Prevalence was significantly higher among boys compared with girls.
- Prevalence was significantly lower among non-Hispanic blacks and decreased more rapidly with age among Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites.

Decreasing trends in Down syndrome prevalence as Hispanic children age may be due to lower survival rates after birth, the researchers suggested.

“Because Hispanic immigrant women tend to have higher rates of fertility, late entry to prenatal care and lower levels of insurance coverage, it is important to conduct more research to elucidate the extent to which these factors might be associated with the observed trends in prevalence and survival in states with rapid Hispanic population growth,” the researchers wrote.

This large, population-based study is the first of its kind, accounting for 29% of all Down syndrome births in 2002 and encompassing data from birth defect registries from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

Shin M. Pediatrics. 2009;124:1565-1571.

Pioneering Hispanic Nurse to Head UTEP School of Nursing

2009-12-09T12:37:00.001-08:00

Pioneering Hispanic Nurse to Head UTEP School of Nursing
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 7

Elias Provencio-Vasquez, Ph.D., the first Hispanic male to earn a doctoral degree in nursing in the country, has achieved another first.

After a national search, The University of Texas at El Paso appointed Provencio-Vasquez as the dean of the School of Nursing. Nationally, Provencio-Vasquez is the first Hispanic male to assume such a position.

UTEP President Diana Natalicio and Provost Richard Jarvis announced the appointment on Dec. 7, 2009.

Provencio-Vasquez, a native of El Paso, earned his doctorate in nursing from the University of Arizona in 1992.

“We are very pleased and proud to welcome Dr. Elias Provencio-Vasquez to UTEP,” Natalicio said. “He has set an example that our Miner nurses can look up to, and we look forward to working with him to help the University build an even stronger nursing program as we move towards Tier One status.”

Provencio-Vasquez, who is the associate dean of the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla., will begin his duties at UTEP in February.

“Together, we will build on the great success of the School of Nursing and take the school to new heights,” Provencio-Vasquez said.

He is looking forward to working closely with the nursing faculty, staff, students and alumni.

“Joining The University of Texas at El Paso leadership team is like coming home,” he said.

For the last 30 years, Provencio-Vasquez has been a clinician, educator, researcher and administrator. He is well-known nationally and internationally for his work with at-risk women and their families. His background and expertise is primary care and developmental assessments of HIV and drug-exposed infants, children and adolescents. He was the former director for the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Texas at Houston and the University of Maryland.

Provencio-Vasquez is past president of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, where he raised awareness, value and appropriate compensation for nurse practitioners during his term.

He is a former member of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, and a current member of the National Advisory Committee of the New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Programs, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. In addition, he holds “fellowship” status in several prestigious national organizations: United States Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Program; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Developing Leadership and Reducing Substance Abuse; American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership for Academic Nursing Programs; American Academy of Nurse Practitioners; American Academy of Nursing and Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Fellows Program.

Study links Latino immigrants' HIV to living in U.S.

2009-12-02T05:48:00.000-08:00

Study links Latino immigrants' HIV testing to level of adaptation to U.S. culture
LA Times, November 25, 2009

Latino immigrants considered at risk for HIV are less likely to be tested or to have access to healthcare services if they are in the country illegally and have not fully adapted to U.S. culture, according to a new study.

The findings underscore the need for more targeted education and prevention programs within the diverse Latino community, which accounts for a disproportionate number of new HIV and AIDS cases in the U.S., said Janni Kinsler, one of six UCLA researchers who conducted the study.

“HIV is not declining, and it should be,” Kinsler said. “If you don’t know that you have it, God only knows who you are transmitting it to.”

Latinos made up 14% of the population in 2006, according to the Census Bureau. But they accounted for 22% of new HIV and AIDS cases that year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

They also tended to be tested for HIV later than other ethnic groups and to be more likely than whites to also have hepatitis C, which can be associated with a more rapid progression to full-blown AIDS, according to studies.

Researchers at UCLA's Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research surveyed 600 Latinos recruited from Los Angeles County sexually transmitted disease clinics, needle-exchange programs and community-based organizations that provide HIV-prevention services.

The researchers measured their level of acculturation -- how well adapted they are to their new culture -- by asking them where they were born, how long they had lived in the U.S., the primary language spoken at home and their current immigration status.

Those with lower levels of acculturation were more than twice as likely to have had no more than one HIV test and to have tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, the study said. Doctors recommend that those at risk of infection be tested every six months.

Those with lower levels of acculturation were also more than twice as likely never to have been tested for hepatitis C and a third less likely to test positive for the disease.

Legal immigrants, who made up 76% of the total, were twice as likely as their undocumented counterparts to receive HIV and hepatitis C tests.

And for every one of the characteristics that were measured for acculturation, participants were found to have a 6% less chance of having access to healthcare, said Dr. William Cunningham, who co-authored the report.

Cunningham said the findings supported the hypothesis that low levels of acculturation are a significant barrier to the use of HIV-related prevention services and access to medical care.

“The question is how do we reach those populations and what kind of education do we do,” he said. “We know that simply giving people facts is not enough to change their behavior, so we really need to understand what their motivating barriers and facilitators are.”

Further research is being done to answer those questions, he said.
Suggestions mentioned in the study included setting up Spanish-language hotlines and confidential HIV testing and counseling sites. The researchers also said that healthcare providers should be educated about the need to tailor HIV-prevention services to Latinos based on acculturation levels.

-- Alexandra Zavis

Maintenance of the Latino male body

2009-12-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

Non-scheduled Male Body Maintenance
If you are a middle aged man, you need to get your blood work done, prostate test, BMI and, oh yes, the invasive colon procedure
By Al Carlos Hernandez, LatinoLA, November 29, 2009

My wife's import sports car has a computer that tells her when to take it in for routine servicing. The computer reads out messages like, "You have X number of miles until servicing is required." Then a little wrench icon pops up when you start the car and it won't go away until you spend at least seven hundred bucks. More....

Latino voters support health care reform

2009-12-02T05:42:00.000-08:00

Latino voters show massive support for health care reform - including public option
Latino Decisions, Nilp.org, November 30, 2009

A new poll of Latino/Hispanic registered voters finds widespread consensus about the importance of health care reform and significant support for robust efforts in this direction. The poll, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico, and ImpreMedia and administered by Latino Decisions, queried 1,000 Hispanic registered voters from November 1-16 regarding their views about politics in general, the nation's health care debate and their views of the administration.

Overall, Latino registered voters are very supportive of efforts to reform the nation's health care system, and show especially strong support for including the 'public option' as part of the reform effort. While President Obama continues to enjoy strong support from the Latino electorate, less than 1 in 7 survey respondents felt the needs of the Hispanic community were fully taken into account during the health reform debate.

Health Care the Nation's Most Important Problem

When asked what "the most important issue that President Obama and the Congress should address over the next year":

- 32% reported health care, 30% identified the economy-including jobs and mortgage issues, 17% picked immigration as the biggest issue, while another 9% identified the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

- In April 2009, a Latino Decisions poll found 56% of Latinos stated the economy was the top issue, compared to just 6% who mentioned health care · Priorities differ between native born and naturalized citizens.

- Naturalized citizens identified the economy (33%) and immigration (28%) more frequently than health (25%) and the wars (4%).

- US-born Hispanics identified health (37%), the economy (28%), and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (14%) as more urgent than immigration (7%).

Urgency of Health Reform

There is widespread consensus among Latino/Hispanic citizens regarding the urgency of both health care reform, and immigration reform.

- Among all Hispanic registered voters, 84% report that it is important for Congress to pass a bill on immigration before the 2010 election.

- Similarly, 86% report that it is important for Congress to pass a bill on health reform before the 2010 election.

- Both are considered more urgent to the foreign born naturalized citizens (85% and 91% respectively) than to the US born (82% for each).

- When asked which of the two was the more important, two-thirds (67%) of respondents picked health reform, compared to just 20% for immigration reform, and 10% thought they were of equal importance.

- This order of priority is consistent between immigrant citizens and the native born, with 62% of the foreign born and 69% of the U.S. born indicating health care was more important.

- While immigration reform looms as a very important concern to the Latino electorate, passing health care reform is such a grave concern that it's importance outpaces immigration reform by over a 3-1 margin

Policy Preferences in Health Reform

- Hispanics prefer some form of universal health insurance, even if it means higher taxes, to the current system, 61% to 28% · The number of uninsured (30%) is most often cited as the principal motivation for reform, with cost control (23%) and affordability (22%) rounding out the top three.

- Those opposed to universal health insurance are only partially motivated by anti-government sentiment, which receive great attention in the media. Among those opposed to universal health insurance, 33% said they were against government take-over, however more than a quarter (27%) stated they needed more information or clarity on the health care reform process

- The public option has robust support among Hispanic voters. 74% of Latinos would "somewhat" or "strongly" support its inclusion in the final bill. This number is significantly higher than in the nation as a whole (56%, CNN 11/15; 61% CBS, 11/16);

- 67% think everyone should be covered, without regard to citizenship or immigration status, while only a quarter (25%) would restrict benefits to citizens and legal residents only. Not surprisingly, immigrant citizen sentiment favors full inclusion (80%) at significantly higher rates than US born 59%, however a clear majority of Latinos, both foreign and U.S. born support inclusion in health care services to all those living in America

Hispanics' needs are great, sense of influence modest

The issue of health is of critical importance to many respondents, with high rates of uninsured Nevertheless, Hispanics have a decidedly mixed evaluation regarding whether their views are considered.

- 20% report having gone without insurance for at least one month sometime in the last two years, and 16% were without insurance on the day of their interview;

- Only 14% believe that public officials care very much about the Hispanic communities health care needs when crafting the health legislation, and 36% said only somewhat. A substantial percentage -- 44% -- report believing that public officials don't consider their needs much or at all.

- Regarding the quality and costs of the current medical system, 49% of Latino voters said they were very satisfied with the quality of care they receive, and 31% were very satisfied with the costs of care, suggesting many in the Latino community are less than satisfied about their current health care situation.

Congress and President enjoy approval among Latinos

President Obama remains widely popular among Hispanic registered voters.

- 74% somewhat or strongly approve of the job being done by President Obama, only 23% disapprove; in April 2009, 81% of Hispanic voters approved of Obama

- Obama is somewhat more popular among foreign born Latinos, holding 79% approval, compared to 72% among U.S. born

- 52% somewhat or strongly approve of the performance of Congress, 37% disapprove; in April 2009, 67% of Hispanic voters approved of Congress

Statement on Methodology

Latino Decisions is a cooperative venture of Pacific Market Research and Dr. Gary M.Segura of Stanford University and Dr. Matt Barreto of the University of Washington.Questions can be directed to gary.segura@latinodecisions.com or matt.barreto@latinodecisions.com. In November 2009 Latino Decisions fielded a national survey of Latino registered voters on issues related to health care reform.

Latino Decisions partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico, and impreMedia, and all phone calls were administered by Pacific Market Research in Renton, WA. The poll was overseen by Drs. Segura and Barreto, experts in Latino public opinion. A total of 1,000 Latino registered voters were interviewed, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Latino registered voters were identified through a Spanish-surname match against the statewide list of registered voters in 21 states. Latino Decisions selected the top 21 states with the highest number of Latino registered voters, and taken together, they account for over 90% of the Latino electorate. Telephone calls were conducted in English and Spanish, at the discretion of the respondent, and all respondent's who were interviewed self-identified as Latino or Hispanic and registered to vote. Overall, 54% of respondents were born in the United States, 39% were foreign born, and 6% born in Puerto Rico and 65% of interviews were completed in English and 35% in Spanish. The survey was approximately 22 minutes long, and was fielded from November 1 - November 16, 2009.

For more information, please visit www.latinodecisions.com or call 877-271-2300.

California county touts large Latino swine flu deaths

2009-11-23T14:45:00.000-08:00

REGION: Latinos account for more than half of county's swine flu deaths
By EDWARD SIFUENTES – NC TImes, November 21, 2009

Nearly half of the people who have died of swine flu in San Diego County were Latinos, county health officials said.

But it's not their ethnicity that is putting them at risk of contracting and dying from the swine flu, health officials say.

Other health and social factors may be to blame.

Although Latinos make up only a quarter of the county's 3 million residents, they account for 15 of the 33 deaths that were reported in the county as of Friday, according to the county's Health and Human Services Agency.

The disproportionate number of Latinos and other minorities with swine flu, also known as the H1N1 influenza, has been reported in other parts of the country, such as Texas and Boston, where health officials have released preliminary reports on the spread of the virus.

Health officials said it is a troubling revelation, but one that is hardly surprising because of the Latino community's high poverty rate, lack of access to health care and high incidence of certain chronic diseases, including diabetes.

"It is surprising, but it is not surprising, because they are the most likely to lack access to health care," said Dr. Britt Rios-Ellis, a professor of health science at Cal State Long Beach, who specializes in Latino health.

Of the other swine-flu-related deaths in the county, eight people were white, three were black, one was Asian and one was listed as "other."

The race or ethnicity of five people was not known, said Jose Alvarez, a spokesman for the county's Health and Human Services Agency.

Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county's Public Health Officer, said the H1N1-related deaths in the county are consistent with what health officials expected.

Most deaths have been young people with compromising health conditions.

In other words, Latinos make up most of the cases, not because of their ethnicity, but because of medical and social issues that are prevalent in the community, she said.

"As we all know, people of color have a large number of underlying medical problems," Wooten said.

Health officials say the swine flu is especially risky to women who are pregnant, and children and adults who have certain health problems, such as respiratory illnesses, heart conditions and diabetes.

Because of the limited quantity of the H1N1 vaccine, health officials have given priority to these individuals and to those whose households include infants younger than 6 months old.

Latinos made up more than half of the 95 swine-flu-related deaths in Texas as of Oct. 17, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, but they are only 37 percent of the state's population.

Health officials in Boston and Texas also have noted a disproportionate number of Latinos among the people who have contracted the virus.

In Boston, a third of all H1N1-related cases were Latinos, who make up about 14 percent of the city's population, according to an analysis in August by the Boston Public Health Commission.

Of the 33 deaths in San Diego County, people between the ages of 25 and 64 make up the largest portion ---- 26 deaths, or nearly 80 percent.

Four people were under age 24, and only three were seniors over 65 years old, according to the county.

Most were female ---- 22 ---- and 11 were males.

Nearly all of those whose deaths were associated with swine flu had underlying medical conditions, according to the county.

Rios-Ellis, who is co-director of the National Council of La Raza's Center for Latino Community Health, an organization that advocates for Latino health policies, said the H1N1 flu provides a strong argument in favor of universal health coverage.

She said that another reason why Latinos are especially susceptible to swine flu and other illnesses is that they often work in low-paying jobs that don't provide health insurance or paid sick leave.

Missing work means losing wages and potentially losing their jobs, she said.

"Latinos tend to underutilize the health care system," she said. "It is a result of the fact that they don't have employer-(provided) sick days or health insurance."

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

Communicating health care policy with Hispanic media

2009-11-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

Health Care Reform: Communicating Policy With Hispanic Media
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 5

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 -- The Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives (www.AHHE.org) and the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health (www.NHCCH.com) have announced the launching of their social media campaign, which will partner Hispanic media, the country's leading Hispanic professional health associations and Hispanic consumers. The launching of the partnership coincides with the appointment of Mirian Zavala, RN, MS, Doctoral Candidate, as the chair of AHHE's Policy Committee. The social media campaign launch and Ms. Zavala will be introduced at a reception, "Health Care Reform: Communicating Policy with Hispanic Media," on Monday, November 23, 2009, 6:00-8:00pm, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, 16th floor Sky lobby.

In attendance, and partnering with AHHE and the NHCCH on this initiative, will be the leading national Hispanic health association presidents, including George A. Zeppenfeldt-Cestero, President, Association of Hispanic Healthcare Executives; Suzanne Colin, PhD, President, the Association of Hispanic Mental Health Professionals; Miguel Hernandez, MD, President, the Dominican Medical Association; Norma Martinez Rogers, PhD, RN, FAAN, President, National Association of Hispanic Nurses; Samuel Arce, MD, President, Spanish American Medical Dental Society of NY, Inc., and Luis A. Vazquez, Chairman, National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Health. The Honorable Joel Rivera, Chairman of the Health Committee for the NYC Council and other elected officials, will give remarks during the event.

George A. Zeppenfeldt-Cestero, President of AHHE, will also be working closely with the national Hispanic professional membership associations to establish a Roundtable of Hispanic Health Association Presidents to insure a unified voice on health issues impacting our community and providing authoritative information to both the media and consumers.

According to Marcelo Rodriguez, President of Inlanet, a leading Hispanic Internet Marketing agency based in New York, "It is of utmost importance that a prominent Hispanic association such as AHHE starts an initiative targeting a community that is growing so fast on the internet - almost 23 million and counting - and by definition is social. AHHE will become a major Hispanic resource on the internet by establishing its presence online where Hispanics frequently turn to for authoritative health resources. AHHE's presence will be displayed on the main social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube."

Health Disparities Tax American Economy. According to researchers commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the combined costs of health inequalities and premature death in the nation cost $1.24 trillion between 2003 and 2006. Patients from racial and ethnic minority communities, who bear a disproportionate share of our nation's health problems, spent nearly $230 billion in excess medical care costs. http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_13067.shtml

As one of the least likely demographic groups to have insurance, Hispanics might be expected to have high hopes for the current reform efforts. In the nearly two dozen congressional districts with a Hispanic majority, the number of people with health insurance is 16 percentage points below the national average, according to a NationalJournal.com analysis. Hispanics accounted for 15 percent of the nation's population in 2007, but 32 percent of the nation's uninsured.

Financial support for this event is provided by national partner, Aetna, and regional partners, NewYork Presbyterian, North Shore-LIJ, Healthfirst, Healthplex and event sponsors, Fidelis Care/New York, Atlantis Health Plan and Inlanet. Credentialed press may register for the event at www.AHHE.org.

P.O. Box 230832, Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10023 T. 212-877-1615 F. 212-877-2406

Cancer campaign enrolls Hispanic support

2009-11-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

AT&T ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT “PADRES CONTRA EL CáNCER”
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 5

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 18, 2009 — AT&T has announced that it will launch the fourth annual campaign to raise awareness of childhood cancer and collect donations to support PADRES Contra El Cáncer (PADRES), a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life for Latino children who are battling the disease, beginning November 22. AT&T set a goal of raising $300,000 this year, which would mean a total donation of $1 million to PADRES since the campaign’s inception in 2007.

Throughout the six-week program, donations will be collected at more than 130 AT&T retail locations throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. AT&T is also offering a promotion throughout the duration of the campaign. When customers purchase an LG phone, AT&T will donate $20 to PADRES and the customer will receive a free LOUVER by Louis Verdad designer cap.

“AT&T has been a faithful partner in its commitment to PADRES, the Latino community and in its support of families coping with the devastating effects of childhood cancer,” said Eva Longoria Parker, actress and PADRES national spokeswoman. “We’re thrilled to launch this year’s campaign and eager to reach the $1 million mark. We hope that the community will come together to help us reach that goal.”

Cancer strikes approximately 1,500 children annually in California; nearly 50 percent of those affected are Latino. Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among children under 15 years old and is second only to accidents in most age groups.[1]

“In times like this it’s more important than ever to support organizations such as PADRES that address vital community needs,” said Andy Shibley, vice president and general manager of AT&T’s Greater Los Angeles Area. “AT&T is pleased to hold the campaign again this year and applaud PADRES and its supporters for championing this cause, which has given hope to so many families."

During the 2008 campaign, AT&T donated $200,000 to PADRES to aid in the organization’s mission. To date, AT&T has donated approximately $700,000 to PADRES.

For more information about PADRES, visit www.IAmHOPE.org.

Latinas could be at risk with new mammogram guidelines

2009-11-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

Mammogram guidelines are flawed
Baltimore Sun.com, Opinions

I am a physician in practice. I have been reading the new mammogram guidelines from the so-called government panel of experts, and I have been exasperated at the plain old stupidity that marks these guidelines ("New mammogram guidelines fuel contradiction, confusion," Nov. 17). The American Cancer Society recently let it be known that doctors may have been over-treating a lot of early and small breast cancers, causing more harm than good in the process. Their contention is that many of these cancers will actually regress even without treatment and will not reduce the lifespan of afflicted individuals. But the American Cancer Society does not know as yet, and therefore has not clearly defined the characteristics of, the tumors that will regress versus those that will enlarge and spread. In the meantime these guidelines have emerged and caused a legitimate furor.

With regard to mammograms, doctors and patients have to be careful. This team of government experts has even left breast self examination in the dust, an unwise move. Also breast cancer is highly correlated with obesity and diabetes -- two, chronic and rampant conditions, even in premenopausal women, in this country and across the world. It is well known, in the medical community, that with the higher incidence of obesity and diabetes in Hispanic and African-American women, they are even more susceptible to breast cancer than their white counterparts.

African-American women die in greater numbers from breast cancer, being more likely to have the advanced stages of the disease at diagnosis, and having a greater rate of recurrence and spread. Considering the numerous publications about the racial disparities in medicine, now we are supposed to ignore the inherent increased risk in African-Americans and Hispanics for this disease and postpone getting mammograms in this subgroup until age 50 years?

A diet rich in vegetables and fruits and low in red meat, combined with regular exercise, is protective against breast cancer. Most poor and illiterate women who neither exercise nor eat a healthy diet are therefore at a higher risk than their affluent sisters. Then there are yet to be understood and unraveled environmental factors, like pesticides and plastics that may contribute to the incidence of all cancers.

It is very cynical that women above the age of 75 years, by this panel's restrictions, will probably be denied mammograms as unnecessary for that age group. Women of this age group fall prey to breast cancers all the time, and among the baby boomers, there will be many when they hit this age who will be at a higher risk because of previous hormone replacement therapy, promoted relentlessly in the past by the pharmaceutical industry and mainstream medicine. The more you think about it, the larger the risk pool grows and the more idiotic this panel seems.

We must improve our diagnostic tools to reduce radiation exposure and increase accuracy. We must avoid unnecessary invasive procedures that cause profound anxiety in patients. Agreed. But we must stop dithering. Not only women with genetic susceptibility or those with a family history of breast cancer, whether young or old, whether premenopausal or postmenopausal, a lot more women than this panel would admit, are at risk for all cancers and particularly for breast cancer.

What is staggering is the malpractice risk involved for doctors if they were to follow this expert panel's guidelines exactly as spelled out. If this declaration is one of the results of the Obama administration's endorsement of "comparative efficacy" studies, comparing many medical therapies and diagnostic tools for their cost effectiveness and usefulness, I dread to think of what else is in store for the already beleaguered physicians and patients in this country. I see "one size fits all " guidelines beckoning tantalizingly, a boon to the cost cutters and the care deniers of medicine.

Usha Nellore, Bel Air

Latinos with alzheimer's, dementia still undertreated

2009-11-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia Are Still Poorly Understood, Undertreated in Latino Communities
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 4

Miami, FL—As National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month kicks off, a leading physician expert on care giving warns that Latinos face gaps in understanding of the disease and barriers to adequate care.

“The significant cost and psychological stress of Alzheimer’s and dementia are difficult burdens for all families,” said Zoë A Lewis, M.D., “but Hispanics, in particular, face unique treatment and care giving challenges that require attention and action.”

Numerous reports show Hispanics may be at the greater risk for Alzheimer’s, while others show they are the least prepared to confront the changing dynamics in care giving. “This was a powerful call to action,” states Zoë A Lewis, M.D. Her organization, Hope through Knowledge, offers community service efforts for aging and end-of-life care. Her new Spanish book , “Espero Que Sepan: La Guía Holística para la Enfermedad de Alzheimer”, ISBN # 978-1602643765 (soft cover), Virtualbookworm Publishing (2009) $18.95, was released last month and will be on sale at the Miami International Book Fair at the South Florida Writers Association Booth, Section D November 13-15th, 2009.

As producer and host of Hospice Radio Blogtalkradio, the November 16th radio program will be dedicated to Alzheimer’s, hosting two renowned authors on Alzheimer’s disease care giving. She will focus on topics covered in the bestsellers, Elder Rage, and Communicating with Alzheimer’s.

Reni Rizzo, Community Education Coordinator from the Alzheimer's Association Southeast Florida Chapter, commented on Dr. Lewis’s efforts and her recent education activism at a community-based presentation in Homestead, Florida.
“Dr. Lewis recognized the fact that older Latinos with dementia overwhelmingly remain living in the community longer, albeit with higher levels of physical and cognitive impairment compared with their non-Latino counterparts in the area. She makes it clear from her work as an internist and hospice doctor, that she understands the needs folks face from diagnosis to terminal care. Latino caregivers care for family members with more complex health, social, and long-term-care needs than are found in mainstream families. The costs for end-of-life care when there are deficits in knowledge are going to be high. We are lucky when she turns out for one of our community events with books in hand, now thankfully in Spanish.”

Dr. Lewis is a Diplomat of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, internist, hospice and palliative care physician, consultant, author, speaker, Alzheimer’s disease education activist, radio show producer and host and Miami, Florida resident. She has been working with Alzheimer’s patients and their families for over fifteen years. Dr. Zoë Ann Lewis was a faculty speaker at the 2009 National Council on Aging, Aging in America conference presenting on dementia and hospice care. Her work was recognized by the NHPCO 2006 guide, ‘Caring for Persons with Alzheimer’s and other Dementias Guidelines for Hospice Providers’. She is a former Harvard Medical School Clinical Instructor of Medicine among other accomplishments. Her dedicated website,www.zoealewis.com, promotes education using the principle ‘hope through knowledge’.

Her first book, “I Hope They Know: The Essential Handbook on Alzheimer’s Disease and Care”, reached number two in online sales in its category on Amazon.com, and received favorable reviews from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Gerontological Nursing, Latin and North American Alzheimer's experts and peers in the fields of music and art therapy. The National Alzheimer’s Association Greenfield Library carries each book.

For more information: www.zoealewis.com/presskit

Hispanic patients kept from life saving transplants

2009-11-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Physician Bias Might Keep Life-saving Transplants From Black And Hispanic Patients
ScienceDaily, Nov. 9, 2009

Physician bias might be the reason why African Americans are not receiving kidney/pancreas transplants at the same rate as similar patients in other racial groups. Dr. Keith Melancon, director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at Georgetown University Hospital and associate professor of surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, and colleagues explore this phenomenon in the November issue of the American Journal of Transplantation.

Medicare coverage for people needing a simultaneous kidney/pancreas transplant has increased in the past decade. In July 1999 Medicare made the changes as a conscious effort by the government intended to address racial and economic disparities that existed. But increased Medicare dollars have not translated into more access for African Americans or Hispanics.

"Our research raised the possibility of racial bias on the part of physicians who might incorrectly assume that African Americans are type 2 diabetics when in fact, they would metabolically meet the criteria for type 1 diabetes," said Dr. Melancon. "Since this is a transplant that is most often performed in type 1 diabetics, their doctors might not even raise the possibility with their black patients. Also, health care providers might incorrectly predict worse outcomes for black patients, despite research that shows they do about as well as other racial groups."

Dr. Melancon's group took a look at the national transplant list before and after the Medicare changes in July 1999. Of the patients already listed for transplant, African Americans were 27% less likely to be recommended for a kidney pancreas transplant than Caucasians. Hispanics were 25% less likely to be recommended. After the Medicare changes African Americans were 28% less likely to be recommended for kidney/pancreas transplant and Hispanics were 31% less likely to be recommended.

"So, the situation for African Americans and Hispanics actually got worse instead of better," said Dr. Melancon.

The benefits of a kidney pancreas transplant are the list is much shorter; 2200 compared with over 80,000 for a kidney alone, according to the United Network of Organ Sharing. Patient survival and kidney graft survival are better in kidney pancreas transplants.

"I don't think the medical community has been aggressive enough about kidney/pancreas transplant, especially in African Americans who are assumed to have type 2 diabetes. When a person has type 2 diabetes and they are obese, the benefit of a kidney/pancreas transplant is often outweighed by the risks of surgery which are higher in an obese person. So they are not offered the transplant. There is also a population of people with diabetes who are sort of between type 1 and type 2. This procedure would work for them too. But I think the medical community is, in some cases, making assumptions about the African American and Hispanic population that they are not making with other racial groups."

A kidney/pancreas transplant is the only current, reliable way to give diabetics normal glucose and insulin levels 24 hours a day. It's not technically a cure, but it does eliminate the medical problems associated with diabetes.

Adapted from materials provided by Georgetown University Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Latinos target of American Heart Association campaign

2009-11-11T17:27:00.000-08:00

The American Heart Association Launches Go Red Por Tu Corazon at the Latin GRAMMY Awards
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 4

The American Heart Association unveiled its Go Red Por Tu Corazon heart health awareness initiative at the 10th Annual Latin GRAMMY® Awards to educate Hispanic women about their threat of heart disease and to empower them to make life-saving choices for themselves and their families.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of Hispanic women and, according to the American Heart Association, Hispanic women are likely to develop heart disease ten years earlier than Caucasian women.

"Go Red Por Tu Corazon is designed to tap into cultural traditions as a means to a healthier lifestyle, and provide Hispanic women and their families with the tools and resources needed to enjoy good heart health," said Luz Marina Prieto, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine for the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. "Our goal is to encourage Hispanic women to protect their hearts so they can be there for the ones they love."

To put heart disease center stage, the American Heart Association has collaborated with one of the biggest Latin cultural events of the year, the Latin GRAMMY® Awards. Go Red Por Tu Corazon kicked off with the support of attending artists and 2008 Nuestra Belleza Latina winner, Melissa Marty, who will be reporting live from the "green" carpet and asking stars, guests and viewers to make a pledge for better heart health in the Latino community.

"After losing my grandmother to heart disease, I knew I had to make heart-healthy changes in my own lifestyle and encourage my parents and brothers to do the same," said Melissa Marty, 2008 Nuestra Belleza Latina winner and Go Red Por Tu Corazon supporter. "I'm proud to be able to share my experience and inspire other Latinas to do the same and improve their heart health."

To provide life-saving education beyond the awards show, a series of video segments featuring Melissa Marty, Latin GRAMMY® attending artists, and fashion expert Martin Llorens will be available throughout the month on Univision.com, Keyword: Go Red Corazon.

In launching Go Red Por Tu Corazon, the American Heart Association has strengthened its commitment to preventing heart disease amongst Latina women. By focusing on family and cultural traditions, Go Red Por Tu Corazon hopes to promote a healthy lifestyle within the Hispanic community.

Since its inception in 2004, Go Red For Women has helped raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of women and inspired millions to make heart-healthy changes. Powered by American Heart Association research, Go Red For Women provides women with the tools and resources to beat this largely preventable disease.

For free heart-health tips and recipes from the American Heart Association and to learn more about Go Red Por Tu Corazon, please call 1-888-474-VIVE.

Latino physician honored

2009-11-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

Dr. Eliscer Guzman From The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mayor Bloomberg Among Comunilife Honorees!
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 4

On October 30th, Comunilife recognized these five outstanding personalities of the New York City community as it celebrates its 20th Anniversary. Dr. Eliscer Guzman received this prestigious acknowledgment for his vision to provide unique services through the Community Diabetes and Cardiovascular Care Program in association with the Mount Sinai Medical Center.

It is the second recognition in a week that honors Dr. Guzman's commitment with the community. Last Friday, he received the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers (NHCA) Award for the success of the Cardiology and Diabetes Center in the Manhattan area, a facility that serves to the most vulnerable Latino community in the city.

About Dr. Eliscer Guzman
Cardiologist and long-time practitioner of Internal Medicine in New York, Dr. Guzman has actively focused on community education to reduce the diabetes epidemic among Latinos and teach diabetics and their family members how to manage and control the disease. Dr. Guzman is clinically affiliated with The Mount Sinai Medicine School and has distinguished himself through his accomplishments of helping the community address their cardiovascular health conditions. Dr. Guzman is the Founder and Medical Director of the Cardiology and Diabetes Care Center.

Hispanic women fearful of Swine Flu Shot

2009-10-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

Pregnant Women Wary of Swine Flu Shot
Survey Shows Most Pregnant Women and Moms of Young Kids Won't Get Vaccinated
By Jennifer Warner, WebMD Health News, Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 27, 2009 -- A new survey shows only about one in four pregnant women and mothers of young children plan to get the H1N1 flu vaccine this year, despite recommendations from public health groups urging them to do so.

The CDC, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and many other public health organizations strongly recommend that pregnant women and new mothers get both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccine shots to protect themselves as well as their newborns.

The survey shows 43% of pregnant women and mothers of children younger than 2 years old plan to get a seasonal flu shot this year, up from 33% surveyed last year. But only 27% plan on getting the H1N1 flu vaccine.

Researchers say confusion and concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine may be preventing many pregnant women from getting the additional protection they need.

A CDC analysis shows pregnant women are up to four times more likely to be hospitalized for complications from the H1N1 and other flu viruses compared to the general population. This may be due to changes in the body related to pregnancy, such as reduced lung capacity, which can make respiratory diseases more dangerous, and changes to the immune system that can make a pregnant woman more susceptible to infection.

"With H1N1 being the dominant influenza virus circulating so far this year, it is vital that all pregnant women get their seasonal and H1N1 flu shots as soon as possible," says Ashley Roman, MD, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University School of Medicine and assistant clinical professor at Yale University, in a news release.

Confusion Over H1N1 Vaccine Risk
The Harris Interactive survey of 668 pregnant women and mothers of children less than 2 years old across the U.S. shows that 86% of women believe the seasonal flu shot is safe; only 68% think the H1N1 flu vaccine is safe. The online U.S. survey was conducted between Sept. 17 and Sept. 29 among women aged 18-50 who were currently pregnant and/or had children under 2 years old.

The most common concern among the pregnant women surveyed was the belief that the H1N1 flu vaccine has not been adequately tested. But researchers say the H1N1 vaccine is made the same way as the seasonal flu shot and has been found in clinical studies to be safe and effective at producing an immune response in healthy adults.

"Both the seasonal and H1N1 flu shots are safe for women to get during any stage of pregnancy and the shots are available in thimerosal-free forms, for those who are concerned about mercury preservatives," says Roman.

Researchers also found that only half of the women knew that getting a flu shot while pregnant will protect both themselves and their newborn babies after birth.

The survey also showed that 41% of Hispanic women vs. 26% of all women believed the false claim that getting a flu shot while pregnant can put an unborn baby's health at risk. Less than half of Hispanic women were aware that the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines are recommended for pregnant women compared with 71% of women overall.

However, the survey showed Hispanic women were more likely than women overall to discuss getting H1N1 and seasonal flu shots with their health care provider.

The survey and an accompanying "Flu-Free and A Mom-to-Be: Protect Yourself, Protect Your Baby - Get Your Flu Shots!" campaign organized by HealthyWomen and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses is supported by CSL Biotherapies, which produces flu vaccines.

Hispanic kids need more Vitamin D

2009-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

U.S. Kids May Need More Vitamin D
Researchers Say Millions of Children May Get Too Little Vitamin D
By Salynn Boyles, WebMD Health News, Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 26, 2009 -- Millions of children in the U.S. may not get enough vitamin D, and African-American and Hispanic kids are especially at risk, a new study suggests.

Researchers concluded that more than 6 million U.S. children have lower vitamin D levels than the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. And more than two out of three children, or 24 million, have lower levels than may be optimal for good health, the researchers reported this week in Pediatrics.

"We think kids would probably benefit from getting more vitamin D than most are getting right now," study researcher Jonathan M. Mansbach, MD, of Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, tells WebMD.

The problem is no one is sure how much vitamin D children and adults need and what the optimal blood levels of the vitamin should be.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children get at least 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D a day, and that blood levels not fall below 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L).

But studies in adults suggest that blood levels of 75 nmol/L or even higher may be linked to a reduced risk for heart disease, certain cancers, and other diseases.

In the newly published study, researchers analyzed recent data from a nationally representative sample of 5,000 children between the ages of 1 and 11 to estimate vitamin D levels for the nation's children as a whole.

Based on this analysis, they concluded that:

- 6.3 million kids, or nearly 20% of all children ages 1-11 in the U.S., fall below the recommended 50 nmol/L blood levels.
- Slightly more than two out of three had levels below 75 nmol/L, including four out of five Hispanic children and more than nine out of 10 non-Hispanic, black children.
- About 1% of children were clearly deficient in vitamin D (below 25 nmol/L) and at risk for the bone-softening disease rickets.

"If 75 nmol/L really is a more appropriate lowest level of acceptable, there is a lot more vitamin D deficiency in U.S. children that most people realize," Mansbach says.

Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin
Mansbach says studies are needed to determine optimal blood levels of vitamin D in children and how much vitamin D they should be taking to get to those levels.

Most children's multivitamins contain 400 IU of vitamin D, the minimum daily amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

But Mansbach says most children probably need more than this, especially darker-skinned children and those who live in colder climates with limited exposure to the sun.

The body converts UV rays from the sun into vitamin D, and all agree that sun exposure is the most efficient way to increase blood levels of the vitamin.

But sun exposure also increases risk of skin cancer, and most dermatologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children wear sunscreen at all times while outside in the sun.

Children with darker skin also need much more exposure to the sun than fair-skinned children to get adequate levels of vitamin D.

Longtime vitamin D research Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, of Boston University School of Medicine, is a promoter of what he calls "sensible sun exposure."

He says the recommendation to wear sunscreen at all times when exposed to the sun has led to widespread vitamin D deficiency in children and adults.

He says limited sun exposure during the summer -- as little as five minutes a day on the arms and legs -- is more than adequate for producing enough vitamin D.

"This is still a controversial position, but the [medical community] is coming around," Holick tells WebMD.

Foods that contain vitamin D include salmon, canned tuna, egg yolks, beef or calf liver, cheese, and fortified sources such as milk, yogurt, and cereals.

Breast cancer book for Hispanic women

2009-10-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Vail Valley cancer book translated into Spanish
“Cancer de Mama 101” is due Nov. 10 in Vail Valley
Vail Daily

VAIL, Colorado — The Vail Breast Cancer Awareness Group is publishing “Cancer de Mama 101” to serve the growing Hispanic community in Eagle County.

The English version of the book, “Breast Cancer 101: A Basic Introduction” has already been published. It was written by Sherry Goldman, director of the High Risk Program at the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, and Brenda Himelfarb, breast cancer survivor and co-founder of the Breast Cancer Awareness Group.

Eagle County residents Rocio Garcia-Aguirre and Brenda Chavez, who work for the Eagle County School District, have translated the book into Spanish. The book was underwritten by The Futernick Family Fund of Miami,.

The authors describe the book as “an intimate, quick-reading manual with basic information that cuts through all the medical jargon and gets to the heart of what everyone wants and needs to know about breast cancer.”

“I am thrilled that the book is now available in Spanish for our Hispanic community,” said Patti Weinstein, co-founder of the Breast Cancer Awareness Group. “Not only will it raise breast cancer awareness, but I really feel it has the potential to reach out beyond our community.”

The book has been endorsed by Dr. Susan Love, noted breast cancer surgeon and founder of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, as well as breast cancer survivor and television producer, Linda Ellerbee, among others.

“We can't put a price on the invaluable information that we learned while translating 'Cancer de Mama,'” Chavez and Garcia-Aguirre, said. “We are so excited to be part of this project because we know it's for people who can really use this information.”

“Cancer de Mama 101,” due Nov. 10, will be available at the Shaw Regional Cancer Center's library as well as other medical facilities in Eagle County. It will be available for purchase at Roxy in Vail and Beaver Creek, or you may call 970-479-8595 to order a copy.

Less sugar cuts diabetes among Latinos

2009-10-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Eating Less Sugar Cuts Diabetes Risk in Latinos
David Gutierrez, Natural News, October 24, 2009

(NaturalNews) Latino teenagers can decrease their risk of diabetes by eating less sugar and more fiber, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers divided 66 overweight Latino teenagers into three groups. The first group was assigned to take a once-a-week nutrition class for 16 weeks, the second was assigned to the same class as well as twice-a-week strength training, and the third group was not assigned to any behavioral modifications. All participants were told that the study was an investigation into the effect of diet on diabetes risk, and received both regular phone calls and non-health related incentives to encourage them to stick with the study.

The nutrition classes focused on directing the participants to reduce their sugar intake and increase their fiber intake.

The researchers found that sugar intake decreased by an average of 55 percent in all three groups, and fiber intake increased by an average of 59 percent in all three groups. The researchers speculated that teenagers in the control group might have modified their behavior because they knew the purpose of the experiment.

"Given that the [control] group demonstrated similar dietary changes as the intervention groups, our results suggest that intensive interventions may not be necessary to achieve modifications in sugar and fiber intake," the researchers wrote. "Accordingly, nutritional guidance given in the primary care or community setting may be sufficient to promote the suggested dietary changes in some individuals."

Teenagers who reduced their intake of sugar experienced a significant reduction in blood levels of both glucose and insulin, significant risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. Their insulin secretion decreased by an average of 33 percent.

Teenagers who increased their fiber intake experienced significant decreases in both weight and body fat. Visceral fat, also a diabetes risk factor, decreased by 10 percent.

Latino obesity and uphill battle

2009-10-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

An uphill battle to combat Latino childhood obesity
By Debra Alban, CNN, October 21, 2009

(CNN) -- When she was about 8, Frida Sepulveda developed dark folds of skin around her neck. It's a well-known warning sign of type 2 diabetes.

Frida's mother, Blanca Sepulveda, who has watched other family members struggle with diabetes and obesity, was "devastated" to see her daughter experience similar health problems.

Now at age 11, Frida is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds, her mother said. Despite a high body weight for her age and height, Frida does not seem to have additional symptoms of diabetes -- or any other major health concerns -- but her parents are trying to reverse the weight problem Frida has had since infancy.

The San Diego, California, family is among a disproportionately high number of Latino-American families with overweight and obese children. According to the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, 16.6 percent of Latino high school students were obese and 18.1 percent were overweight. The corresponding national averages for high school students were 13.3 percent obese and 15.8 percent overweight.

It's an epidemic that shocked and saddened Lorena Garcia, a chef who appears on Univision and Telemundo.

"I travel all over the country to the major Hispanic festivals and I realized that 90 to 95 percent of the kids that I saw at the festivals were overweight," said Garcia, who established the Big Chef Little Chef program to teach Latino youth healthy cooking and eating habits. Video Watch Garcia interact with her fans »

The problem is caused by a wide range of cultural, social, economic, environmental and possibly genetic factors. Experts agree it is an uphill battle to solve.

"You can't just try to change someone's behavior necessarily without trying to change their environment," said Dr. Michael Goran, director of the University of Southern California's Childhood Obesity Research Center. How can childhood obesity be reduced?

Blanca Sepulveda, 38, believes her own upbringing in Mexico before coming to the United States in junior high school ultimately contributed to her daughter's weight problem.

"The way I was raised ... you don't [leave] the dinner table until you're done with all your food. That's instilled in you," Sepulveda said.

Back in Mexico, she said, the food was healthier and fresher, and she didn't drink soda. But she still applied that mentality to her own children, who were born and raised in the United States, where sugar-laden and fattening foods are widely available.

The Sepulveda family's story is similar to that of other immigrants who are healthier than their American-born children: Those born outside the United States are less likely to be obese than native-born children, said Luisa Franzini, Ph.D., of the University of Texas School of Public Health.

Despite the trends, more study is necessary to determine whether American acculturation is entirely to blame for poor diets among Latinos, an expert says.

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, a nutrition and public health professor with the University of Connecticut, wrote in the June 2009 issue of Journal of the American Diabetic Association that adaptation to U.S. society may explain, to some degree, "deterioration of dietary quality" and the risks of diabetes and other chronic diseases. However, he wrote, it's still not completely clear.

Healthy food harder to come by

Economic factors play a major role for many Latinos in their weight struggles.

Angelica Delgado is trying to overcome the obstacle with the Healthy Latino Families initiative, a culturally tailored nutrition and exercise program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As the Community Research Supervisor for the United Community Center, Delgado is trying to get healthy school lunches in the Bruce-Guadalupe Community School, with which she's working on Healthy Latino Families.

About 80 percent of Bruce Guadalupe's student body, which is 97 percent Latino, come from low-income households and therefore are eligible for reduced-price or free lunch.

Without money coming in to support the lunch program, it's difficult to fund better quality food and equipment to ensure that it's freshly cooked, Delgado said. For now, she hopes the fun, bilingual setting of Healthy Latino Families will teach children to make smart food choices.

The lack of availability of inexpensive, fresh, healthy food is a common for low-income populations in general, Franzini said.

Research suggests that more affluent neighborhoods have a higher availability of healthy food, she said, adding that the cost of healthy food is lower in more advantaged communities.

The community factor

Exercise also poses tricky problems for Latino children struggling with weight, as many live in disadvantaged areas may make it tough for them to play outside or walk to school.

From a physical point of view -- in terms of sidewalks and litter -- those areas tend to be in worse shape than an average neighborhood, Franzini said. But her research also suggests that the social component of a neighborhood affects children's physical activity levels.

"It's not sufficient to just clean up the neighborhood -- pick up the trash and build sidewalks," said Franzini, whose study on the impact of neighborhoods' social characteristics was published earlier this year in the American Journal of Public Health. "It also needs to be a neighborhood where people feel safe and they feel that they can go out and walk and run and exercise and do whatever they want to do."

To that end, Franzini's research indicates that those Latinos living in tight-knit communities often get more exercise than those in more mixed neighborhoods.

"Having a neighborhood which is more connected, where people feel safe -- I think it's all a matter of feeling empowered in a way. And so those who feel that they have this stronger neighborhood from a social point of view, they are also more likely to be physically active," Franzini said.

Finding solutions

Researchers and community advocates are attempting to combat the Latino youth obesity problem. But the multitude of factors makes the issue a moving target and results of interventions are mixed.

For example, about a year after a previous phase of Healthy Latino Families in Milwaukee wrapped up, children reportedly ate better and watched less television per day. Delgado said they are awaiting results from the current program, but she has seen some success already.

USC's Goran worked with Latino teenagers over 16 weeks to improve their diets, promoting fiber-rich tortillas and altering recipes of aqua fresca so it would have less sugar. But at the end of the four months, he saw "no significant improvement in the outcomes."

"We have to do those studies over longer time periods than we have previously done to kind of give these things a chance to work and kick in," Goran said. "We're ... taking it one step at a time."
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And Frida's mom, Blanca Sepulveda, said she is focusing on modifying her own behavior to help her entire family.

"It's a retraining of the mind," Sepulveda said. "It gets hard because you have to be an example."

Health Net works on Latino community

2009-10-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Plan Builds on Company`s Longstanding Commitment to California`s Latino Community
PRESS RELEASE

EAST LOS ANGELES, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Health Net, Inc. (NYSE: HNT) today launched Salud con Health Net Medicare Advantage HMO (Salud Medicare), the first-of-its-kind Medicare Advantage HMO plan targeting senior Latinos.

Building on Health Net`s popular suite of Salud con Health Net products currently available to employers and individuals, this new, comprehensive medical and prescription drug plan provides Latino Medicare beneficiaries access to culturally sensitive health care services in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino for the annual enrollment period, beginning November 15, 2009. The launch was announced at Health Net’ s East Los Angeles Community Solutions Center.

"The Latino community is the fastest-growing market in California," said Ana Andrade, Health Net, Inc. vice president of Latino Programs, who led the launch of the company`s first Salud product in 2000. "With this plan, Latino seniors can count on affordability, cost predictability and quality care from a network of culturally sensitive health care providers who are Latino or are trained and experienced in providing medical care that recognizes the special needs of Latinos."

Salud Medicare has a $0 monthly premium and $0 doctor and hospital copayments. It also covers transportation services for medical-related appointments to the plan’s targeted network of health care providers. Members also have the opportunity to improve their health and well-being through a program called
"Silver and Fit," which encourages members to reap the health and wellness benefits of a fitness routine - whether in the comfort of their own home or by enrolling for a no-charge membership at a local health club. For additional benefit information on Salud Medicare, visit http://www.abetterdecision.com/.

Health Net’s Salud Medicare plan helps expand the health care coverage options needed by the Latino market. Research conducted in 2006 by Hispanics and the Future of America, Committee on Population indicates that elderly Latinos – with or without health insurance - are less likely to see a physician and use preventive services provided by medical professionals. Health Net believes cultural and language gaps in health care settings contribute to this disparity and developed its caregiver network to address these challenges.

According to DTC Perspectives, a market research report published in September 2009, nearly half of Latino seniors say they face language barriers because they speak little or no English. For those individuals, this makes navigating the already-complex health care system an even more daunting challenge. Given the depth of many health care topics, in-language communication makes for better medical decisions by physicians, patients and their families.

David Hayes-Bautista, Ph.D., a national expert on Latino health care, said Health Net’s Salud Medicare is a step in the right direction. "While Latino seniors tend to see doctors and use hospitals less often than their non-Latino peers, it is important that they are comfortable in accessing the health care system when they need to and are encouraged to seek preventive care," said Hayes-Bautisita. "Health Net selected physician and other caregivers for its provider network who bridge the cultural and language gaps that can create barriers for Latino patients."

According to the latest U.S. Census figures, Latino seniors, ages 65 and older, currently total 2.3 million and make up 6.5 percent of the U.S. elderly population. Projections have this group growing to 15 million by the year 2050, making up 17.5 percent of the U.S. elderly population. Not only will Latinos make up a large percentage of the elderly population in the future, but several industry studies also indicate they are expected to live longer than seniors of other ethnic backgrounds.

According to the latest Neilsen Universe estimates for the Los Angeles DMA, which covers Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties, Latino seniors over age 50 make up 26 percent of the area`s population.

Med school enrollment edges up; 11th year in a row

2009-10-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

Med school enrollment edges up; 11th year in a row
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. medical school enrollment is up for the 11th consecutive year as colleges seek to meet a growing demand for physicians.

First-year enrollment climbed 2 percent over 2008, and now totals nearly 18,400 students. The number of applicants remained mostly stable at around 42,000. Four new medical schools opened their doors this year; several others expanded class size.

That's according to an Association of American Medical Colleges report released Tuesday.

The number of black and Asian enrollees climbed slightly while Hispanic first-year students remained mostly unchanged. Whites still make up about 70 percent of first-year students.

The group's president says residency training slots need to increase to accommodate more medical school students.

Healthy babies, lagging Latino toddlers

2009-10-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Healthy babies, lagging Latino toddlers
San Francisco Chronicle

Latino infants born as healthy as their white and middle-class counterparts start to lag behind in language and mental development as toddlers, according to two new studies out of UC Berkeley.

The findings lend support to those promoting publicly sponsored preschool programs, which boost early literacy and language learning.

To explain the findings, the researchers pointed to low levels of education among Latino mothers, larger family sizes among families, and uneven learning practices in the home compared to white children.

"Just one-fifth of Mexican American and one-third of all Latina mothers had completed any college courses, compared with almost two-thirds of white mothers," the authors wrote. "Almost three-fifths of Mexican American toddlers were growing up in families earning less than $25,000 per year, relative to just one-fifth of white families."

The findings found no connection to prenatal care.

“The Mexican American mothers display remarkably sound prenatal practices and healthy diets, more beneficial habits than any other group in the U.S., including smoking and drinking less,” said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley, who led both studies, in a statement.

The findings, published this week in the "Maternal and Child Health Journal" and in the medical journal "Pediatrics," were based on a study of 8,114 infants born across the country in 2001.

Researchers from the UC Berkeley's Institute of Human Development, UCLA’s School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh medical center conducted the study.

Leaders of the New York City Latino Community Come Together to Support Operation Smile at a Premier VIP Benefit

2009-10-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

Leaders of the New York City Latino Community Come Together to Support Operation Smile at a Premier VIP Benefit
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 2, Issue 2

Hispanic business leaders, musicians, celebrities and the philanthropically-minded elite have joined together to support Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity, by hosting the 1st Annual Latino Smile Benefit. This exclusive charity event will be held on October 28th from 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm at M2 Ultra Lounge in New York City. The evening will include special performances by Latin Grammy Award winner Frankie Negrón, Premio Lo Nuestro Award Winner Magic Juan, Bachata musician Toby Love, musician Oro Solido, comedian Ruperto Vanderpool, as well as a surprise artist. Darlene Rodriguez, co-anchor of Today New York, Lulu & Lala of The Luis Jimenez Show, and Gloria B. of 93.1 FM Amor Radio will host the evening ceremonies.

The 1st Annual Latino Smile Benefit is chaired by James Cotto and committee members include Belinda Aquine, Vanessa Cabezas, Roberto Castillo, Danny Estrada, Alex Fredericks, Joana Gonzalez, Michelle Huerfano, Vanessa Laguna, Felipe Lopez, Natalie Manuel, Ken Marinelli, JR Morales, Elis Pacheco, Jean Pierre, Anel Pla, John “Gungie” Rivera, Steven Rodas, and Ines Rosales.

The goal of this event to raise awareness and funds for Operation Smile to help transform the lives of children in Latin America suffering from cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.

“Celebrating the first annual Operation Smile benefit is an extremely exciting opportunity for Latinos,” noted host committee chairman, James Cotto. “When my daughter Lucy was born she was diagnosed with a cleft palate condition. With the guidance and support of Dr. Bill Magee, the founder of Operation Smile, we were able make Lucy smile. I was also fortunate to attend an Operation Smile mission, which was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Clinique, the renowned skin care and cosmetic company, will provide exclusive gift bags for the anticipated 600 event guests.

For more information on tickets and attending the event please visit www.operationsmile.org/2009latinobenefit

Health fair provides access for Latinos

2009-10-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Health fair provides access for Latinos
By BETH BURGER – Bradenton.com

MANATEE — No insurance. No transportation. Little or no income.

Those are some of the factors that often lead to increased health risks for America’s Latino population, according to health professionals at a local event Saturday to encourage wellness and create awareness in low-income areas.

A wide range of services were offered: HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing, flu shots, immunizations, blood pressure checks and screening for diabetes.

“We consider them an at-risk population. They don’t have access to services — especially the farm workers. ... They are usually deprived of services. There’s a lack of transportation, a lack of insurance and a language barrier. Events like this give them an opportunity,” said Luz Corcuera, program director for Healthy Start Coalition of Manatee County.

This is the second year for the health fair sponsored by Healthy Start and Manatee County Health Department and funded by private donations.

Salome Lopez, of Bradenton, stood with a stroller near her two children at Pride Park Recreational Facility, 815 63rd Ave. E.

Through an interpreter, she said events like this make it possible for her to receive some form of preventive health care for her family.

Both Lopez and her husband are currently unemployed. She said they can’t afford annual exams. She was tested for HIV and had a blood pressure screening.

The health fair is sometimes the only health care some families receive each year, Corcuera said.

Manatee’s population is made up of about 14 percent Latinos, she said, adding that many of those people are at-risk.

In 2002, the gap for flu vaccinations for adults 65 years old or older was 70.3 percent for whites and 46.7 percent for Latinos, according to the Center for Disease Control. At the fair, nurses ran out of flu shots.

Latinos are also considered to be at higher risk for contracting HIV/AIDS, diabetes and asthma, according to the CDC. This group comprised 17 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States in 2006.

On Saturday, about 30 people kept chairs filled outside a Manatee County Health Department mobile unit waiting to get tested.

Carmen Rojas, a records technician for vital statistics, worked as an interpreter Saturday.

“Many can’t afford to go to the doctor. Most of these people come from another country and many don’t know what services exist,” she said.

The fair also had information for new mothers to encourage breastfeeding and information on WIC, a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children that provides federal grants to states.

The program recently introduced vouchers to include fruits and vegetables this month.

Better eating habits can curtail health issues later on in life, according to health professionals. But for many Latinos on low incomes, the money sometimes isn’t there to eat healthy.

“You can get a hamburger for 49 cents versus fresh fruit and vegetables that cost a couple of dollars,” said Elvira Saez, who also worked as an interpreter Saturday.

“A lot of them lack fresh vegetables in their diet and when you ask, ‘Why?’ They say they can’t afford it.”

Alternative health care group to help Latinos

2009-10-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Alternative health care group to help Latinos
By Amanda H. Miller, JH News and Guide, October 17, 2009

A group of alternative health care providers will make a second visit to help the Jackson Hole Latino community this weekend.

When the Global Alternative Healthcare Project came to Jackson in March, it was the first time the organization had set up an operation in the United States, founder Frank Butler said.

More than 150 people showed up for that one-day clinic at the Latino Resource Center in March. Because of the popularity of the program, the group is returning with more than twice as many volunteers for a two-day clinic in the Jackson Hole Middle School commons area, said Clare Payne Symmons, interim director of the Latino Resource Center.

The clinic will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Butler, a doctor who specializes in Chinese medicine — acupuncture, body work, lifestyle counseling and nutrition — created the Global Alternative Healthcare Project in 2005.

The organization consists of about 14 volunteers skilled in alternative medicine practices who travel around the world helping people in developing countries who don’t have regular access to health care.

Some of the organization’s volunteers came from Jackson and suggested doing something here, Butler said.

That wouldn’t work in most places. Wyoming, however, is one of only two states in the country where acupuncturists don’t have to be licensed, Butler said.

That lack of regulation allowed the group to come here.

People went to the doctors with every manner of problem, from aches and pains to liver problems, circulation issues, heart problems and cancer.

“We did a lot of nutrition counseling,” Butler said. “We also did triage, and there were some people who we said, ‘You have to go to a Western doctor and get this treated,’ ” he said.

Visitors do not have to have anything wrong, Payne Symmons said. They can come for a checkup or a counseling session. It’s free.

The health care providers are trying to focus efforts on the Latino community, but if there are openings, they will see anyone, Payne Symmons said.

Anyone interested in attending the clinic should call the Latino Resource Center at 734-0333 to make an appointment.

Colorado Hispanics target of health program

2009-10-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

UnitedHealthcare Launches PlanBienSM for Colorado Hispanics; Plan Combines Health Benefits, Bilingual Support Services
PRESS RELEASE

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(Business Wire)--
UnitedHealthcare`s PlanBienSM, an innovative suite of health plans featuring unique services to enhance the health and well-being of Spanish-speaking individuals, is now available in Colorado.

PlanBien incorporates linguistically accurate and culturally relevant health information and customer service programs into its plan designs at no extra charge, ensuring the coverage is tailored to meet the unique health care needs of Hispanics. These resources include printed and online materials in both Spanish and English and information about health topics of particular interest to Hispanics, such as diabetes management and heart health. Plan participants also have access to bilingual customer care professionals who can answer questions and help locate Spanish-speaking physicians.

An online directory identifies physician offices with Spanish-speaking doctors and staff, making it easier for plan participants to find a physician close to their home or work. PlanBien customers also have access to UnitedHealthcare`s broad national health care provider network of approximately 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals.

PlanBien is available now for Colorado businesses with between two and 99 employees. The plans are being offered exclusively to the more than 2,200 member businesses of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the state`s first and oldest minority chamber.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. work force. Also, Colorado has one of the nation`s largest Hispanic populations, with about 20 percent of state residents of Hispanic and/or Latino origin.

"In developing PlanBien, we enhanced United Healthcare`s quality and cost-effective health benefit plans with innovative support services," said Russell Bennett, United Healthcare`s vice president of Latino Health Solutions at United Healthcare. "These services help address two growing areas of concern: the need to reduce the rate of the uninsured among the Hispanic population, and the effort to help Hispanics - many of whom communicate more comfortably in Spanish - better understand their health plan and become more engaged in their health care. We believe PlanBien can make a positive impact on both fronts."

"We are offering PlanBien to our member employers because we believe PlanBien helps meet the unique health care needs of Hispanics, Hispanic-owned businesses and their employees," said Jeffrey Campos, president and CEO of the Denver Hispanic Chamber. "Our collaboration with United Healthcare will enable us to help make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Colorado`s Hispanic community."

PlanBien is currently offered in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas as well as Colorado.

More information about PlanBien is available online in Spanish and English at www.planbien.info/ and www.uhclatino.com.

Latino aids awareness focus of collaborative campaign

2009-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Univision and Kaiser Foundation Mark National Latino AIDS Awareness Day With New Campaign Featuring People Living With HIV/AIDS
PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Univision Communications Inc. and the Kaiser Family Foundation today unveiled the second phase of "SOY. . ." (I AM. . .), the groundbreaking Spanish-language media campaign featuring the personal stories of a diverse group of Latinos living with HIV and their loved ones. The new campaign materials will debut on the Univision Network, the Telefutura Network and Galavision in conjunction with National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) on October 15th and continue throughout 2010.

"SOY. . ." features 14 Latinos in the U.S. and Latin America living with HIV/AIDS who share both a passion for life and a desire to end the spread of the disease. They are musicians, academics, businessmen and housewives - everyday people who share their experiences living with HIV. Shot in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Mexico City, San Salvador, Lima, and Buenos Aires, the documentary-style public service ads (PSAs) aim to create a personal connection to HIV/AIDS among the audience and engender the feeling that HIV/AIDS could affect "people like me and those I care about."

In the first wave of the campaign, which debuts today, audiences will meet Yolanda, a devoted mother who works in a Los Angeles health clinic; Joann, a minister and church choir director from Chicago; Alejandro, a 20-year old Argentine musician; Dania, a vibrant Cuban-American poet and dancer from Miami; and, Enrique, a passionate community activist from New York City. The campaign spots will air in the United States on Univision, TeleFutura, and
Galavision networks and television and radio stations, and across more than 12 countries in Latin America as part of the Latin American Media AIDS Initiative.

Developed by Univision and the Kaiser Family Foundation, "SOY. . ." includes 28 original public service ads (PSAs) for television and radio and Spanish-language HIV/AIDS information and resources available online through a dedicated website (www.univision.com keyword: SIDA) and via a toll-free Spanish-language hotline (1-866-TU-SALUD). The campaign was developed as part of ¡Enterate de VIH y SIDA! (Get the Facts about HIV and AIDS!), a long-standing public information partnership established in 2001 between Univision and the Kaiser Family Foundation to provide culturally relevant Spanish-language information and resources about HIV/AIDS and sexual health. The latest series of campaign spots were conceptualized by Kaiser and Univision, and produced by ONYX.la and WeArePacheco, winners of 7 Lions Awards at the 2009 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

"Univision has a long history of addressing issues that are important to our audience and the response to HIV and AIDS within our community is an urgent issue," said Ivelisse Estrada, Senior Vice President for Corporate and Community Relations at Univision Communications. "Our work to provide information about HIV and link our audience to AIDS-related resources has made a critical difference in breaking the silence about this disease and getting people tested."

"Latinos in the United States are disproportionately impacted by HIV and AIDS, and stigma remains a key challenge to addressing the problem within the community," said Tina Hoff, Vice President and Director of Entertainment Media Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "By sharing their stories, the individuals profiled in this campaign are connecting very personally with audiences in the U.S. and across Latin America, helping to break the silence and fight the stigma surrounding this disease."

The campaign launch coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month and National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD) - a national collective movement and public health marketing effort aimed at educating and mobilizing Hispanic/Latino communities to increase their knowledge on the impact of HIV/AIDS and health related safe practices. "SOY. . ." is the official campaign of NLAAD, and Univision and Kaiser are working with the Latino Commission on AIDS and the National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) to distribute HIV/AIDS information resources and "SOY. . ." programming materials to community organizations, health agencies and local clinics and across the country.

"The 'SOY. . .' campaign provides an unprecedented opportunity to tell the story of HIV/AIDS in our communities in a way that's real and compelling. The campaign reinforces that each of us is equal in the face of AIDS - ending this epidemic requires both personal responsibility and community action," said Guillermo Chacon, interim Executive Director, Latino Commission on AIDS. "Univision and Kaiser are real leaders in the Latino response to AIDS, linking
Univision's audience to critical resources and fighting the stigmas and stereotypes that persist within our families and communities."

All campaign materials can be viewed at www.univision.com (keyword: SIDA) or on the campaign's YouTube page: www.youtube.com/soycampaign.

Race not a factor if breast cancer therapy succeeds

2009-10-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Race Not a Factor if Breast Cancer Chemo Succeeds
All women have similar outcomes when there's no sign of disease following treatment, study finds
US News, October 14, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Among women with locally advanced breast cancer who undergo the same class of chemotherapy, race doesn't affect the odds of having no sign of disease at surgery, a new study finds.

Having no sign of the disease is considered a good sign that bodes well for a woman's prognosis, although it's not a guarantee that the cancer has vanished for good, the study authors noted.

"Our findings confirm [that having no sign of the disease] is a strong prognostic indicator and a surrogate for good survival, despite a patient's race, and that it's vital we continue to strive towards achieving this milestone for all women with breast cancer," said study co-author Dr. Mariana Chavez-MacGregor, a medical oncology fellow at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "The study also mandates that we continue to research the differences across races in breast cancer."

Researchers know that there are racial disparities when it comes to breast cancer. While black women are less likely to develop breast cancer than white women, their death rate is 37 percent higher. The death rate is also increased in Hispanic women, studies have found.

It is unclear why the disparities exist, and researchers continue to try to determine whether it has something to do with access to health care and screening or variations in the tumors between women of different races.

The new study by Chavez-MacGregor and colleagues at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer included 2,074 patients diagnosed and treated for stage II and III breast cancer. The average age of the women was 50, and they all received neoadjuvant anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy.

According to the researchers, who were to report their findings at the 2009 Breast Cancer Symposium held Oct. 8 to 10 in San Francisco, there was no statistical difference in the percentages of patients who reached what is known as "pathological complete response." The rate was 12.3 percent in white patients, 12.5 percent in black patients, 14.2 percent in Hispanic patients and 11.5 percent in patients of other races.

Overall survival rates for five years were 79 percent in whites, 57 percent in blacks, 79 percent in Hispanics and 84 percent in other races, the study authors noted.

More information contact the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Hispanic children less likely to take asthma meds

2009-10-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Minority kids less apt to take asthma meds
Reuters Health, Oct 13, 2009

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Black and Hispanic children with asthma are less likely than their white counterparts to be taking daily medication meant to prevent asthma attacks, a U.S. study shows.

The findings, published in the medical journal Chest, suggest one reason for the generally poorer asthma control among minority children.

The study found that among 1,485 asthmatic children from four U.S. states, black children were twice as likely as white children to have gone to the emergency room for an asthma attack in the past year. Overall, 39 percent of black children had visited the ER, compared with 18 percent of white children.

Hispanic children fell in between, with 24 percent of parents reporting an ER visit in the past year.

Some clues to the disparity emerged when the researchers looked at the children's medication use. Both black and Hispanic children were less likely to be taking inhaled corticosteroids -- daily medication that is recommended for preventing attacks of breathlessness and wheezing in people with persistent asthma.

Among white children, one-third had used inhaled corticosteroids in the past 3 months. Those figures were 21 percent and 22 percent among black and Hispanic children, respectively.

Minority children were also more likely to be overusing quick-acting drugs designed to treat an asthma attack in progress: 26 percent of black children used such "rescue" inhalers on a daily basis, as did 19 percent of Hispanic children. That compared with 12 percent of white children.

The findings suggest that underuse of preventive medication may be a "significant factor" in the racial and ethnic disparities in children's rates of ER visits and hospitalization for asthma, write the researchers, led by Dr. Deidre Crocker of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

It is not entirely clear why the racial disparities exist, according to Crocker's team.

Even after the researchers weighed factors like family income and insurance coverage, household smoking and children's weight, race itself was still a factor in asthma control and medication use.

One potential reason, Crocker and her colleagues write, is the fact that black and Hispanic children are more likely than white children to get their medical care in an emergency room -- where prescriptions for preventive asthma medication are less likely, compared with a doctor's office.

However, they add, research also suggests that doctors may be less likely to prescribe inhaled corticosteroids to minority patients, and that minority parents tend to be more skeptical about the drugs' safety than white parents are.

Whatever the reasons for the findings, Crocker's team concludes, they show that more needs to be done to increase the use of preventive asthma medication among minority children and decrease their reliance on rescue inhalers.

Latinos taught about blood thinners

2009-10-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Latinos taught about blood thinners through video
The Latino Journal E-News Weekly, Vol. 2, Issue 1

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a free bilingual DVD entitled, “Staying Active and Healthy with Blood Thinners,” to promote the importance of taking blood thinners. There are 2 million Americans that begin blood thinner therapy each year to prevent blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. Now, through a specially produced DVD, clinicians hope to educate patients who are prescribed anticoagulants or who are already taking the drugs and to meet Joint Commission patient safety education requirements for high-alert medications, such as anticoagulants.

AHRQ has created a specific website where individuals can see the video through their computer or mobile phone with Internet access. The online video and other information about anticoagulant therapy can be found at: www.ahrq.gov/consumer/btpills.htm

HEALTH CARE BILL OVERCOMES EXTREMIST POLITICS, BUT STILL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, SAYS NCLR

2009-10-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

HEALTH CARE BILL OVERCOMES EXTREMIST POLITICS, BUT STILL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, SAYS NCLR
PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States noted the progress of the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform legislation toward floor consideration, but expressed concern that the Latino community would not benefit from health care reform unless the final Senate bill is improved. NCLR applauded the committee’s defeat of multiple anti-immigrant amendments and inclusion of a positive children’s provision in a final committee health care proposal.

“Many members of the committee listened to the collective voice of tens of thousands of Latinos throughout the country who have raised concerns about the tone of the debate,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. In recent weeks, groups that promote the health and well-being of communities of color and immigrants have mobilized a national effort to ensure that these communities are protected and fairly integrated into health care reform.

Among the provisions that the Senate Finance Committee voted against were proposals to impose additional waiting periods on legal immigrants, barring them from purchasing affordable coverage even though they are mandated to have health insurance. The committee also defeated amendments that would have imposed onerous verification on legal immigrants and U.S. citizens.

“Time and time again, verification proposals have been proven to eliminate access to coverage for eligible U.S. citizens and legal immigrants and waste taxpayers’ money,” noted Murguía. “NCLR commends the majority of the Senate Finance Committee who stood up for sound policy rather than playing politics with the health of Americans. NCLR is especially grateful for the actions of Senator Menendez, who has continuously pushed for policy solutions that ensure coverage for children with special family circumstances.”

Although the Senate Finance Committee has taken an important step toward achieving reform, more work is needed to improve health care reform legislation to ensure that the proposals are meaningful for Latinos. The health care reform bill still contains harsh restrictions on legal immigrants and will deeply inhibit the ability of U.S. citizens in mixed immigration status families to buy health coverage.

Hispanic children miss out on brain tumor care

2009-10-14T05:54:00.000-07:00

Unequal access: Hispanic children rarely get top-notch care for brain tumours
Science Centric | 11 October 2009

Hispanic children diagnosed with brain tumours get high-quality treatment at hospitals that specialise in neurosurgery far less often than other children with the same condition, potentially compromising their immediate prognosis and long-term survival, according to research from Johns Hopkins published in October's Pediatrics.

More than a decade after the Institute of Medicine's landmark report Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Hopkins investigators say their findings detect persistent gaps in access to specialised care among certain patients, raising questions about how far across the chasm we have actually come.

'What was shocking to us was the finding that, despite the push over the last decade to equalize access to high-quality care, gaps are still there, particularly among Hispanics, and, if anything, they may be getting even worse,' said lead investigator Raj Mukherjee, M.D., M.P.H., a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurosurgery at Hopkins.

Research has shown that patients treated at speciality hospitals that admit a high volume of patients with similar conditions fare better in the long and short term, investigators say. For example, studies show that patients undergoing brain surgeries in hospitals that perform the fewest neurosurgeries have up to 16 times the mortality rate of patients treated in hospitals performing the highest number.

'Given that brain tumours are the most common solid tumours in children, lack of access to specialised care simply means that thousands of paediatric patients are getting less-than-optimal treatment, putting them at risk for relapse and a host of neurological complications,' says paediatric neurosurgeon George Jallo, M.D., co-author on the study and director of Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Centre.

The Hopkins study, which looked at 4,421 children with brain tumours over the span of 18 years, found that access was worst among Hispanics, as well as among those of lower socio-economic status and those living in areas with higher immigrant population and with few neurosurgeons. Insurance did not play a role in where a patient was treated, the researchers found. The Hopkins team linked two databases - one detailing hospital and patient information and another one with demographic and environmental information - elucidating in a novel way the impact of such factors as ethnicity and proportion of foreign-born people in the county of residence.

Overall, only 37 percent of the patients in the study who should have been treated at a high-volume hospital had surgeries in such institutions. Hispanics consistently fared worse than the others: Even when adjusting for factors that may affect access to care, such as socioeconomic status and health insurance, Hispanic children still got specialised care at one-third the rate of other children, the Hopkins team found.

'If you're a Hispanic child diagnosed with a brain tumour, you're far less likely to get the best possible treatment, and this is concerning in and of itself, but there's another looming threat emerging from our findings,' said senior investigator Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., associate professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology at Hopkins. 'Hispanics will make up 25 percent of this country's population by the year 2050, so unless we do something about this, it looks like in the next few decades, a quarter of our population may end up getting substandard care.'

'Our findings are yet another reminder that we are at a unique crossroad in history as we try to restructure our healthcare system, and we have been given a chance to reduce, perhaps even eliminate, these inequalities once and for all,' Quinones adds.

Researchers say that pinpointing the exact factors that determine who gets care and where they get it requires carefully designed studies that examine individual patient decision-making, as well as systemic factors, such as insurance and possible institutional bias in patient selection.

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Hispanic immigrants encouraged to get flu shots

2009-10-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Immigrants urged to get flu shots
Many avoid vaccine or aren’t accustomed to it
By JENALIA MORENO, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Oct. 3, 2009

Fear of the flu has made Yolanda Cisneros such a germaphobe she has bleach stains on her blouse from cleaning her home so obsessively.

For the first time in her adult life, the Mexican immigrant who doesn't have a regular doctor or health insurance got the seasonal flu vaccination. If she can afford it, she plans to receive the H1N1 vaccine when it's available.

“With the whole situation, the contagion, I decided to get it,” said Cisneros, 59, after receiving flu and tetanus shots at a senior citizen immunization event at the Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center on Friday. “I have to take care of myself.”

Health officials are trying to encourage the at-risk population to get immunized against both the seasonal and swine flu. Persuading the Hispanic immigrant population to participate in the voluntary vaccination program poses a challenge because of a host of barriers including language, deportation fears, culture and cash.

Fewer than four in 10 Hispanic adults said they would get the seasonal flu shots, and 56 percent said they were not concerned about the flu, according to a September study conducted by Garcia Research and sponsored by Clorox Co.

Rumors that the vaccination will sicken people are circulating among Hispanics and keeping some from getting the shot.

“Latinos have a lot of misconceptions regarding the vaccine,” said Aliza Lifshitz, a Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles internist and editor of VidaySalud.com, a Spanish language health site. “Some people are saying, ‘Oh we're going to be guinea pigs.'”
Concerns of legal status

Illegal immigrants also fear authorities.

“I think there is some concern among undocumented immigrants that we're going to report their status to authorities. That's not our job,” said Donald Briscoe, medical director of Houston Community Health Centers, which operates the Denver Harbor Medical Clinic and Airline Children's Clinic.

Regardless of their legal status, health authorities want immigrants who comprise a significant percentage of Houston's population to get vaccinated to protect the public. Last year, the Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services' refugee program administered the flu shot to 800 adults and has 1,000 vaccinations available this year.

“We're trying to limit the spread,” said Porfirio Villarreal, spokesman for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, which will administer 5,000 flu shots this season.

Some immigrants simply can't afford the shot, said Rosanne Popp, medical director for the Christus Southwest Community Health Center, which is holding a flu vaccination drive for children from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Saturday.

“Especially with the economy, $25 for a flu shot is a lot,” said Popp, whose center charges its patients $10 for the shot compared to $25 by many pharmacies.

Some Hispanics are simply not accustomed to getting vaccinated.

“A lot of people coming from abroad associate vaccinations with little kids,” said Joseph McCormick, regional dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville.
Others uninsured

Part of the problem is that Hispanics often don't go to the doctor until they are sick because they are uninsured, he said.

Hispanics are most likely to be uninsured with 41.5 percent of Hispanic adults without insurance compared to 16 percent of the total U.S. adult population, according to a recent Gallup poll. Texas also has the highest uninsured population, with 27 percent of Texans without insurance, according to Gallup.

Mexican immigrant Maria Alejandro is uninsured and got her first adult immunization after her friends escorted her to the vaccination site. Alejandro, 47, doesn't seek medical treatment because she would rather not know if she's ill.

“I'm afraid to go to the doctor because he's going to discover I have a sickness, and I'll get depressed,” she said.

jenalia.moreno@chron.com

Hispanics seeking more plastic surgeries

2009-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

As More Hispanics Seek Plastic Surgery, Medical Science is Slow to Keep Up
Rob Kuznia, HispanicBusiness.com, Oct. 2, 2009

It's not that Petra Bonilla, a young stay-at-home mom in Queens, N.Y., had a huge problem with her nose. She just thought the tip hung down a little too far.

Late last year, after saving up a little money, the 32-year-old Hispanic mother of four went to the plastic surgeon.

When the moment of truth came -- that is, when the doctor removed the bandage -- she was horrified.

"He didn't even work on my tip," Bonilla, whose husband owns a nightclub, told HispanicBusiness.com. "It was just chopped off."

After several months of seclusion, Bonilla decided to try another doctor. This time, she did some research. More….

Bilingual health events for Latinos planned

2009-10-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Health events in October focus on Latinos
The Associated Press, Oct. 2, 2009

DALLAS — Consulates from Latin America and several health agencies are kicking off a series of bilingual health events this month in North Texas.

The effort led by the Mexican consulate begins Saturday in Fort Worth and runs through Oct. 29. Six other consulates are participating, including those of Peru and El Salvador.

Officials say the events are a chance for people to receive health advice in Spanish, without regard to immigration status. They point out that Hispanics have higher rates for some illnesses and on-the-job injuries. Many also may lack health insurance.

Events also are scheduled for Denton, Dallas and Arlington. They will include free screenings for osteoporosis, low-cost vaccines, coupons for mammograms, AIDS awareness and other health information.

Hispanics target of National Cancer Institute campaign

2009-10-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

National Cancer Institute attacks disease in Hispanic communities
By Brendan Missett, Private MD Labs, 2009-10-02

National Cancer Institute attacks disease in Hispanic communitiesThe U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced this week that it has formed a partnership with governments in Latin America to combat cancer in the region and in Hispanic populations in the U.S.

The signature of John E. Niederhuber, NCI director, solidified the union of the United States-Latin America Cancer Research Network which aims to enhance cancer research and care infrastructures in certain regions. The signatories include representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile and the U.S.

NCI estimates that the prevalence of cancer in the U.S. Hispanic population will climb to about 60 million and represent approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population by 2020. Likewise, in Latin America, cancer is among the top three deadliest diseases.

Speaking on the value of the unified front for cancer research, Niederhuber commented, "The coming together of nations today is symbolic of our common commitment to advance cancer research, but is much more." He added, "Understanding why certain cancers are more prevalent in certain countries and why immigration patterns may affect cancer's burden will be crucial."

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1,500 persons in the U.S. are expected to die of cancer each day in the next year. Doctors recommend an array of imaging tests or lab tests to detect some types of cancer while they are treatable.

Latinos targeted by radiothon to help St. Jude Children's research

2009-10-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

St. Jude and Davidson Media Group Announce 2nd Annual Hispanic Radiothon to Help Children With Cancer
PRESS RELEASE

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Davidson Media Group (DMG) and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital(R) announce second annual Promesa y Esperanza (Promise and Hope) radiothon to be held October 8th and 9th. More than a dozen Spanish language radio stations across the country, including Philadelphia, Charlotte, New Orleans, Providence, Minneapolis, and Kansas City will encourage listeners to support St. Jude in its fight against childhood cancer and other deadly diseases by calling 1-800-998-VIDA (8432) from 7:00 AM- 7:00 PM (EDT) to make a donation.

The goal of this event is to educate the Hispanic community about St. Jude, which provides medical care to thousands of sick children regardless of their family's ability to pay. During the broadcast, listeners will hear emotional stories from Hispanic patients and families who are battling cancer at St. Jude, including Valeria Ruiz. A native of Puerto Rico, 3-year-old Valeria is receiving medical treatment at St. Jude after being diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.

Thanks to St. Jude and donations from monthly donors called Angeles de Esperanza (Partners in Hope), children like Valeria have the opportunity to receive cutting-edge medical care. In 2008, DMG dedicated close to 30 hours of programming and raised more than $776,000 for the children of St. Jude, one of the world's premier pediatric cancer research centers.

"It is always great to see how Latinos throughout the country embrace the mission of St. Jude. Again this year, Davidson Media Group is committed to helping the children of St. Jude and we encourage our loyal listeners to join in this effort to save children's lives, we care about making a difference and giving back to those who need us most", said Felix L. Perez, President and CEO of Davidson Media Group. Davidson Media Group owns 37 Radio stations in 19 different markets throughout the U.S.

"We are so grateful to these dedicated Spanish language radio stations and their generous listeners, who have embraced the St. Jude mission of finding cures and saving children," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. "It is heartwarming to see the Hispanic community rally around our cause every year, and I know that the funds raised during Promesa y Esperanza will inspire hope in our precious patients and their families."

Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world. From public donations such as the Promesa y Esperanza radiothon, St. Jude researchers and doctors are able to share medical discoveries around the world, including several Latin American countries, to help increase survival rates for children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses.

About St. Jude:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

Health care event for Latinos planned

2009-10-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Health care events for Latinos will be held first two weeks in October
By Gosia Wozniacka, The Oregonian, September 30, 2009

The Ninth Annual Binational Health Week, a series of health care events aimed at disadvantaged and uninsured Latinos, will take place in Oregon beginning Saturday and running through Oct. 15.

The Binational Health Week is an effort of federal and state government agencies, community-based organizations, and volunteers to improve the health of the underserved Latino population living in the United States and Canada and increase awareness of critical health issues among Latinos.

In Oregon, it encompasses a weeklong series of health promotion and education activities that include a health fair, workshops, medical screenings, immunizations, classes on diabetes prevention and management, a career fair for Latino students, and a soccer tournament.

The health care events are aimed at Latinos, organizers say, because more Latinos are uninsured than any other ethnic or racial group. According to the U.S. Census bureau, 30 percent of all U.S. Latinos were uninsured in 2008, as compared to 10 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 19 percent of blacks, and 17 percent of Asians.

Most events will be held in Multnomah and Washington counties. For the calendar of activities, go to http://binationalhealthweekpdx.org/2009/activities.php or www.tusaludestaentusmanos.org

Gosia Wozniacka

National Hispanic group urges healthcare reform

2009-10-03T07:38:00.000-07:00

National Hispanic Council on Aging Urges Healthcare Reform and Geriatrics Training for Health Professionals as Older Americans Reach 20% of Population
PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National leaders are meeting in Washington for the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) conference Oct. 6-7 to urge Congress to support healthcare reform and address the growing need for geriatric care as two of the nation's largest populations -- baby boomers and Hispanics -- reach a critical level.

Congressional and local decision-makers, experts and academic leaders will meet for the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) conference, "Working Together for a Common Aging Agenda," Oct. 6-7 at the Marriott at Metro Center, 775 12th St. NW, Washington. http://www.nhcoa.org/conf/

The nation's older population will double by 2030 and make up 20% of all Americans -- 71.5 million people.

"By 2050, there will be 2 billion older people in the world. That means that for the first time in human history, older adults will outnumber the young. This is a total population shift, and societies throughout the world will struggle to support this dynamic change," said Dr. Yanira Cruz, president and CEO of NHCOA, http://nhcoa.org/president_ceo.php. "Resources, workforces, and services must accommodate the new reality."

Because older adults have specific health issues, healthcare professionals -- beyond general practitioners -- need training to diagnose and treat them, said Cruz. "That, coupled with a growing older population, highlights the urgent need to train them in geriatric care," she said. "This is the tip of the iceberg of a huge public health challenge."

NHCOA is the premier national organization dedicated to understanding the needs and securing the wellbeing of Hispanic older adults and their families. Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population.

The conference will focus on ensuring that aging issues remain a high priority in complex times. NHCOA is a resource for those working with older adults and their caregivers. NHCOA works with U.S. legislators as they address health, economic security, education and civic engagement, and housing policy -- helping those leaders craft solutions of benefit to all older adults, including the most rapidly-growing sector within that population, the Hispanic elderly (projected at over 15 million by 2050).

Oct. 6, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Task Force on Health and a member of the Appropriations Health Subcommittee, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at NHCOA's Awards Dinner.

"As legislators we have a moral imperative to ensure that the policies and programs we develop will protect our older Americans from harm, safeguard their prosperity, and promote their health and wellness," said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.

Invited speakers include Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee; Tina Tchen, Director, White House Office of Public Engagement, HHS; Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-CA); Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC); DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D); Raul Yzaguirre, executive director of the Center for Community Development and Civil Rights at Arizona State University; Gara LaMarche, president and CEO, The Atlantic Philanthropies; Karyne Jones, president and CEO, National Caucus and Center on Black Aged; Christine Takada, acting president and CEO, National Asian Pacific Center on Aging; Louis Colbert, American Society on Aging; and Randella Bluehouse, executive director, National Indian Council on Aging.

To address that growth and care for this older population, healthcare reform must include affordable access to care and medication; a workforce that is culturally and linguistically competent, as well as age sensitive; programs that increase the number of gerontology professionals; and a focus on prevention, said NHCOA Chairman Raul Yzaguirre.

"It is important that we work together to eliminate the health disparities that exist for Hispanic elders in this country," said Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee, who will speak during a morning session Oct. 7, on "A Conversation on Healthcare: Our Nation's Priority." "By helping people better understand and manage their health, and by giving caregivers the support they need, our elders can live longer, healthier and more independent lives."

NHCOA is the premier national organization dedicated to understanding the needs and securing the wellbeing of Hispanic older adults and their caregivers, the fastest-growing segment in the U.S. population. For information, visit http://nhcoa.org/.

Telehealth should target Latinos more

2009-09-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

Latinos not targeted enough by telehealth programs
The Latino Journal E-News, September 21, 2009

At a time when healthcare is at the top of national debate, few are discussing the power of telehealth and how this could drive medical bills down. So what is telehealth and how is it used?

Telehealth is the use of telecommunications to provide a variety of health services, especially to rural areas of the world. The services include clinical healthcare, patient and professional-related education, and general health administration. The technologies used in telehealth include: videoconferencing, the Internet, store and forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications. While new applications are increasingly found for using these technologies, significant barriers remain to making these technologies an integral part of daily health care practice.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, numerous grants were awarded by the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to universities, clinics and hospitals implementing telehealth programs. Although there were programs in every state that received an award, not all programs served more than 20 percent of Latinos within their service area. This was especially alarming for California and Texas, where only two and three programs respectively, serviced more than 20 percent Latinos within their service areas. Both states have Latino populations that are quickly approaching 40 percent and nearly half living in rural areas.

The following are the number of programs by state that served more than 20 percent Latinos according to OAT:

Arizona - 3
Califiornia - 2
Colorado - 1
District of Columbia - 1
Florida - 1
Georgia - 2
Idaho - 1
Indiana - 1
Kansas - 2
Kentucky - 1
Massachusetts - 1
Montana - 1
New Jersey - 2
New Mexico - 2
New York - 4
Ohio - 3
Oklahoma - 2
Pennsylvania - 5
Rhode Island - 1
South Carolina - 2
Tennessee - 2
Texas - 3
Utah - 3
Virginia - 1
Washington - 1
Wyoming - 1

For more information about OAT grants, visit their website at http://www.hrsa.gov/grants.

Hispanics lag on insurance and healthcare access

2009-09-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hispanics, Health Insurance and Health Care Access
By Gretchen Livingston, Pew Hispanic Center, September 25, 2009

Six-in-ten Hispanic adults living in the United States who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents lack health insurance, according to a new analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center of a survey it conducted in 2007.1 The nationwide survey offers a detailed look at the health insurance and health care access of an immigrant subgroup that has become a focus of attention in the current debate over health care reform.

The share of uninsured among this group (60%) is much higher than the share of uninsured among Latino adults who are legal permanent residents or citizens (28%), or among the adult population of the United States (17%).

Hispanic adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents tend to be younger and healthier than the adult U.S. population and are less likely than other groups to have a regular health care provider. Just 57% say there is a place they usually go when they are sick or need advice about their health, compared with 76% of Latino adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 83% of the adult U.S. population.

Overall, four-in-ten (41%) non-citizen, non-legal permanent resident Hispanics state that their usual provider is a community clinic or health center. These centers are designed primarily as "safety nets" for vulnerable populations and are funded by a variety of sources, including the federal government, state governments and private foundations, as well as reimbursements from patients, based upon a sliding scale (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008).

Some 15% of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that they use private doctors, hospital outpatient facilities or health maintenance organizations when they are sick or need advice about their health. Traditionally, patients in these settings are required to pay for their care, either via insurance or out of pocket.

An additional 6% of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that they usually go to an emergency room when they are sick or need advice about their health. Most emergency rooms are required by law to provide care to all patients. Patients are responsible for payment for emergency room services, but in some instances the Federal government partially reimburses hospitals for expenses the patients cannot afford.

Some 37% of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents have no usual health care provider. More than one-fourth (28%) of the people in this group indicate that financial limitations prevent them from having a usual provider -- 17% report that their lack of insurance is the primary reason, while 12% cite high medical costs in general. However, a majority (56%) say they do not have a usual provider because they simply do not need one. An additional 5% state that difficulty in navigating the U.S. health care system prevents them from having a usual provider.

Undocumented immigrants and their children comprise 17% of the estimated 46 million Americans who lack health insurance.2 According to Pew Hispanic Center estimates, 11.9 million undocumented immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2008. Three-quarters (76%) of these undocumented immigrants were Latinos.

Overall, about one-quarter of all adult Latinos are undocumented. Pew Hispanic Center analyses of Current Population Survey data indicate that approximately 98% of Hispanic immigrants who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are undocumented. So, while the survey classification used in this report does not line up exactly with the Latino undocumented population, the two groups are nearly identical.

The Latino population in the U.S. is relatively young, and Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are younger still. Some 43% of adult Latinos who are not citizens or legal permanent residents are younger than age 30, compared with 27% of Hispanic adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 22% of the adult U.S. population. The youthfulness of this population contributes to its relative healthiness. Among adult Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents, about one-third (34%) report that they either missed work, or spent at least half a day in bed over the past year, because of illness or injury. The rate rises to 42% among adult Latinos who are citizens or legal permanent residents and to 52% among the U.S. adult population.

Experiences in the Health Care System

Three-fourths (76%) of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that the quality of medical care they received in the past year was excellent or good. This is similar to the proportion of adult Latino citizens and legal permanent residents (78%) who express satisfaction with their recent health care.

However, when asked a separate question -- whether they had received any poor medical treatment in the past five years -- adult Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are less likely (16%) to report any problems than are Latinos who are citizens or legal permanent residents (24%).

Among those Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents who report receiving poor medical treatment in the past five years, a plurality (46%) state that they believed their accent or the way they spoke English contributed to that poor care. A similar share (43%) believed that their inability to pay for care contributed to their poor treatment. More than one-third (37%) felt that their race or ethnicity played a part in their poor care, and one-fourth (25%) attributed the unsatisfactory treatment to something in their medical history.

When asked about their most recent medical appointment, three-fourths (76%) of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that they felt comforted or relieved by the visit, and 69% report feeling reassured. Much smaller proportions left their most recent medical visit feeling frustrated (31%) or confused (27%).

Not all Hispanic kids getting H1N1 shots

2009-09-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

Swine flu: Parents not flocking toward H1N1 flu vaccinations for their kids
LA Times, September 24, 2009

Germ-spreading school children are expected to be the focus of a massive U.S. vaccination campaign against the novel H1N1 flu. But if their parents are hearing the sounding of the tocsin at all, they're not buying it, says a new national survey.

A poll conducted by the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital found that only 4 in 10 parents said they would get their children immunized against the H1N1 virus--even as 54% indicated they will get their kids vaccinated against regular seasonal flu. Among those that said they do not intend to have their kids vaccinated against H1N1, almost half--46% indicated they're not worried about their child becoming ill with the pandemic virus. One in five told surveyers they do not believe the H1N1 flu is serious.

Skepticism about the new vaccine among parents has drawn on many old, and a few new fears, according to a recent look at the subject in The Times.

There were differences along racial and ethnic groups in parents' responses. More than half of Latino parents said they will bring their kids to get vaccinated against H1N1. Among white parents, 38% said they would do so. African American parents were least inclined to vaccinate: 30% said they planned to do so.

About half of the parents who planned to take a pass on the H1N1 flu shot for their kids expressed concern about possible side effects of the vaccine.

The chatter about seasonal flu and novel H1N1 flu and their relative virulence has certainly confused parents, the survey suggests. Half of respondents said they believe that, for children, seasonal and H1N1 flu pose roughly equivalent risks.

"That perception may not match the actual risks," says Dr. Matthew Davis, a University of Michigan professor of pediatrics and internal medicine and director of the poll. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that while serious complications of seasonal flu appear to spare most kids and strike the elderly and very young most heavily, the novel H1N1 flu appears to hit children and young adults hardest.

Parents who believe that H1N1 flu will be worse for children were most likely to say they will have their own children vaccinated. In a news release accompanying the poll results, Davis said that public health officials wishing to maximize vaccination rates among school children need to communicate clearly to their parents that kids are at relatively greater risk of becoming seriously ill with the novel flu strain if they get it.

-- Melissa Healy

Latino behavioral group kicks off program

2009-09-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

Groundbreaking Latino Consumer Network to Kickoff at 1st Annual “Tenemos Voz” Symposium
PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON– Sept. 22: The National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) announced today its plans to establish a national Latino consumer network to improve the delivery of mental health services for Latinos across the country. The consumer-driven network will be the first of its kind for the Latino population and will be launched at the first annual Tenemos Voz (“we have a voice”) Symposium to be held in Los Angeles on September 22.

“We are hopeful that our work to bring Latinos together from across the country to discuss their mental and behavioral health care needs will positively impact how these services are delivered to our community, and believe it will have a major impact on the behavioral health of Latinos throughout the country,” explains Guillermo Brito, executive director of NLBHA. “Given the current U.S. health care reform discussion, we have a unique opportunity to draw attention to the great disparities that exist in areas of access, utilization, practice based research, and adequately trained personnel in the behavioral health arena.”

The invitation-only symposium will convene a steering group of nearly 70 Latino consumer leaders from across the U.S. to establish an operating structure and work plan for the national network. “Latinos in the United States account for more than 45 million people, making the need for a national Latino consumer network quite obvious” said Fred Sandoval, NLBHA Board President. “NLBHA is positioned to play a role in helping to empower consumers so that they can impact the behavioral health care system and make it more responsive to their needs. It will open many doors and opportunities that the Latino community did not even know existed.”

Other factors affecting disparities in the delivery of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services and that the network will address include the insufficient number of Latino mental health care practitioners, low educational and socioeconomic levels, the high percentage of uninsured Latinos, and racial as well as ethnic discrimination.

Border health research project funded

2009-09-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

UTEP gets $12.4M to further border health research
By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times, 09/23/2009

EL PASO -- The University of Texas at El Paso is poised to further its work on border-health topics with a $12.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The university on Tuesday announced that it received the five-year grant to support its Border Biomedical Research Center.

The center focuses on developing possible therapies for illnesses prevalent in the border area, such as tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, diabetes, cancer and certain neurological disorders, said Robert Kirken, professor and chairman of the department of biomedical sciences at UTEP.

"This grant is focused on developing research infrastructure. It is supposed to provide or enhance the competitiveness of especially minority institutions," Kirken said.

The grant, made through the institutes of health Research Centers in Minorities Institutions program, will fund six new faculty positions and at least two postdoctoral fellowships.

It also will pay for equipment, support staff and some travel.

This is the fourth time the center has received a five-year grant from the agency.

"It's an extremely important building block on our road to Tier One (research university status)," UTEP President Diana Natalicio said. "It's the kind of sustained funding that creates opportunities for faculty and students, and it's extremely important that we continue to grow our portfolio of grants like this from NIH, the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Energy."

Latinos and Blacks will gain from new diabetes center

2009-09-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

South Dallas diabetes education goes into the neighborhood
By ROY APPLETON and DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News, September 23, 2009

The diagnosis of diabetes is accelerating across the nation, most commonly afflicting blacks and Latinos.

With those realities in mind, Baylor Health Care System is confronting the disease in a core spot – South Dallas.

Hospital and city officials joined neighborhood leaders Tuesday morning at Juanita Craft Recreation Center for a ceremonial groundbreaking of what they hope will be a model for diabetes care.

The center at 4500 Spring Ave. will become home next year to Baylor's Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute – an initiative involving both treatment and prevention with a goal of improving lives and reducing health care costs.

"Instead of treating the disease in our hospitals, we want to deal with it in the neighborhoods," said Dr. Paul Convery, chief medical officer of the Baylor system.

The Rev. Henry Green Jr. attended the event. He presides over the Community Outreach Baptist Church, across the street from the recreation center. He knows diabetes well. The lanky 62-year-old was diagnosed seven years ago and plans to work closely with the initiative.

Even with health insurance, the preacher found it difficult to find a good diabetes education program near his home, he said.

"With this place here, I can see a lot of us not losing our legs, not losing our eyesight, not losing our lives because of diabetes," he said. "I applaud Baylor for making a bold statement."

The institute will offer a clinic staffed by doctors and other medical specialists, affordable medications, plus diabetes education ranging from nutrition and cooking classes to exercise programs.

The Juanita Craft center will still offer its regular services and will be expanded for the institute. The city is contributing $2 million toward that work with Baylor paying $15 million for construction, equipping and staffing the institute for four years, Convery said.

The institute will be open to all regardless of residency, insurance or income. "We won't turn anyone away," he said.

South Dallas was selected because of its predominantly black population that is relatively poor, medically underserved with limited access to healthy food, he said.

"It was considered the least healthy area of Dallas County," he said.

Nationwide, 6 percent of the population was diagnosed with diabetes in 2006, up from about 3 percent in 1997, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. And in Texas, diabetes rates are highest among African-Americans (12.9 percent) and Latinos (12.3 percent) compared with Anglos (8.5 percent), according to the Texas Diabetes Council.

rappleton@dallasnews.com;
dsolis@dallasnews.com

Hispanics, blacks less likely to control blood pressure

2009-09-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Minorities Less Likely to Have Blood Pressure Under Control
Blacks have the highest readings, despite taking medications, study finds
By Jennifer Thomas, HealthDay, September 23, 2009

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Blacks and Hispanics with a history of stroke or coronary artery disease have higher blood pressure than whites, while Hispanics are less likely to be prescribed medications to control it, a new U.S. study shows.

About 63 percent of whites, 58 percent of Hispanics and 40 percent of blacks had blood pressure readings that fell within national guidelines, the researchers found.

"There was a significant disparity in achievement of blood pressure goals among African Americans as compared to whites or Hispanics," said senior study author Dr. Nerses Sanossian, associate director of the Stroke Center at University of Southern California.

The study was to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference in Chicago.

Researchers evaluated data on blood pressure levels from 517 participants in the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey who reported having had either a stroke or coronary artery disease. About 12 percent of participants were Hispanic and 25 percent were black.

National recommendations call for most adults to keep their blood pressure under a reading of 140 for the top number and 90 for the lower number, while diabetics should keep it under 130/80.

"The greatest risk factor for having a heart attack or stroke is having a previous heart attack or stroke," Sanossian said. "Blood pressure control is one of the cornerstones of prevention. This is a group of people in whom prevention is really crucial."

Reasons for the disparities may include lifestyle or economic factors, genetics and differences in the quality of health care received, the researchers said.

While blacks and whites reported being prescribed blood pressure medications at similar rates, blood pressure was not as well-controlled in black patients as in white patients.

Black participants had average systolic blood pressure (the upper number in a reading) of 140, compared to 134 among whites. Blacks had diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) of 74, compared to 65 in whites. Both are significant differences, Sanossian noted.

Previous research shows that a systolic decrease of 10 translates into a 31 percent reduction in stroke rate.

"The average person out there has to have their blood pressure controlled, but if you've had a stroke or coronary artery disease you have to have your blood pressure controlled in a much stricter way," Sanossian stressed.

Hispanics and whites had similar systolic blood pressure (133 compared to 134), though Hispanics had higher diastolic blood pressure (72 compared to 65), the researchers noted.

Yet, only 54 percent of Hispanics who'd had a stroke or who had coronary artery disease were taking drugs for hypertension, compared to 77 percent of whites and 76 percent of blacks.

Among stroke survivors, 52 percent of Hispanics were prescribed blood pressure medications compared to 74 percent of whites and 87 percent of blacks. Among Hispanics with coronary artery disease, about 59 percent were taking hypertension medications compared to 80 percent of whites and 74 percent of blacks.

Making sure that minorities get the proper blood pressure medication to get blood pressure under control is of critical importance, said Dr. Rhian M. Touyz, a professor of medicine at University of Ottawa.

Hypertension is more common in blacks than whites and tends to be more difficult to get under control, Touyz said. Blacks tend to suffer more severe complications from high blood pressure at a younger age than other racial groups. Blacks are also more sensitive to the effects of salt in the diet, which can raise blood pressure.

"It's well known that African Americans tend to develop much worse renal complications and stroke than white patients with high blood pressure," Touyz said. "If we can understand better what are the mechanisms that are responsible for the differences in hypertension rates and why the complications are more severe, it will allow us to better treat patients who are black."

In addition, certain high blood pressure treatments don't work as well in blacks. Classes of drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system, which can raise blood pressure when overactive, tend to be more effective in whites, Touyz said.

The data used in the study did not include information about what medications participants were taking or the doses.

Education and outreach programs targeting minorities, along with aggressive screening and treatment for hypertension, would help eliminate some of the disparities, the researchers said.

Hispanic groups promote therapeutic art

2009-09-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

Anaheim Family YMCA, Latino Health Access and Others Team Up with American Chemistry Council to Promote Recycling Education
PRESS RELEASE

ORANGE COUNTY, CA (September 19, 2009) – Today, the Anaheim Family YMCA, Latino Health Access (LHA), Anaheim League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Orange County Children’s Therapeutic ARTS Center (OCCTAC), Keep California Beautiful (KCB) and the American Chemistry Council have partnered to promote recycling in Orange County. By dropping off a 30-gallon bag of plastics and other materials for recycling, family members of the YMCA, LHA and OCCTAC will receive free tickets to the September 26th Angels game that includes attendance in the day-long Angels Fiesta Day celebration.

ACC also is working with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to place recycling bins in the baseball stadium to encourage and promote recycling.

Anaheim Family YMCA, LHA, Anaheim LULAC and OCCTAC have become the latest partners in an ongoing recycling campaign that began in 2007 when representatives from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, ACC and KCB launched a new beach recycling program on State Parks sites in the Los Angeles and Central Coast areas. The program soon spread to State Parks beaches in San Diego, Monterey, and Santa Cruz and to the cities of and Brentwood and Woodland. To date, the program has installed more than 500 permanent and seasonal recycling bins and signage on 25 state beaches.

“Teaching kids the importance of recycling is one of the many ways the Anaheim Family YMCA instills respect, responsibility and other valuable character traits in our youth,” said John Guastaferro, Vice President of Communications, Anaheim Family YMCA. “We’re thrilled to be able to share the message of recycling with our members, in collaboration with the Angels, American Chemistry Council and other community partners.”

“Latino Health Access welcomes the opportunity to partner with the American Chemistry Council to promote the value of recycling education with our community,” said Gabriela Gonzalez, Communications and Development Coordinator. “We believe that ‘participation makes the difference’. Our families will enjoy an Angel’s baseball game and Angels Fiesta Day activities all the while contributing to a cleaner and healthier community. This is a win-win situation for all.”

“In times like these, a free afternoon of Angel’s baseball is a spectacular way to spend time with family,” said Yvonne Gonzalez Duncan, President, Anaheim League of United Latin American Citizens. “Adding the education element of environmental stewardship, conservation and recycling further promotes our civic pride.”

The Director and Founder of Orange County Children’s Therapeutic ARTS Center, Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami, adds, "What a wonderful idea for our children to learn about recycling in such a practical way!"

The recycling of plastics in California, particularly in away-from-home settings, can help to reduce litter and marine debris. As a result, program participants welcome opportunities to work with communities like Anaheim and Santa Ana to deliver educational opportunities reminding people that plastics are too valuable to waste and should be recycled.

"Too much plastic – including many readily recyclable products – is ending up as litter on our beaches, in our waterways and in our neighborhoods,” said Steve Russell, Vice President, Plastics, of the American Chemistry Council. “We know Californians want to recycle more. We appreciate this opportunity to work with community groups like the Anaheim Family YMCA, Latino Health Access and the Anaheim League of United Latin American Citizens to help make our environment cleaner for the future of California.”

More than 80 percent of U.S. households have access to a recycling program, be it curbside collection or community drop-off centers. While there are approximately 2,100 certified recycling centers in California, too many people still see plastics as trash instead of valuable materials that should be recycled.

Latino nutrition group celebrates healthy living

2009-09-20T07:18:00.000-07:00

Resources From Oldways Celebrate Latino Nutrition
Gourmet Retailer, Sept 17, 2009

In celebration of Latino Nutrition Month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC) have released "Latino Living -- A Guide to Better Health Through Traditional Food and Active Lifestyles" for both consumers and health professionals.

"'Latino Living' was originally designed for health professionals and dietitians, but it is so user-friendly and simple that it's perfect for consumers from coast to coast," said Sara Baer-Sinnott, executive vice president of Oldways.

For consumers, the kit offers:
• A seven-day Healthy Latino Meal Plan, with recipes and grocery list.
• A bilingual Latino Lifestyle Calendar, featuring a tip-a-day for following the healthy Latin American diet.
• New, illustrated, bilingual Latin American Diet Pyramid, with basic guidelines to help plan daily meals.
• The following in both English and Spanish:
--A list of Latin American super foods
--Kitchen Strategies: timesavers and smart swaps
--Tips for Kids: cooking, lunches and snacks
--Tips on how to exercise with your family

For health professionals and RDs, the kit offers:
• All of the above, plus
• Statistics concerning obesity, nutrition, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer rates occurring in the Latino American population.
• A detailed explanation of the Latin American Diet Pyramid, along with basic guidelines that help plan daily meals.
• Weekly Goal Tracking and 24-Hour Recall Sheets.

Consumers, health professionals and RDs can request this free resource (on CD-ROM or online) by e-mailing or calling Adriene Worthington (aworthington@oldwayspt.org, 617-896-4876).

Coinciding with National Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino Nutrition Month will introduce consumers to a variety of ways to cook, eat and enjoy the Latino diet pattern. The introduction of an updated Latin American Diet Pyramid will stress the importance of putting plant foods such as fruits, veggies, grains (mostly whole), nuts and peanuts, beans, and spices at the core of one's diet. Additionally, consumers can enter Oldways/LNC's Latin American Diet Recipe Contest (see below) to win a variety of prizes.

See what else is happening during Latino Nutrition Month on the Oldways and LNC Web sites. These programs include:

1. An updated Camino Mágico, a downloadable, bilingual supermarket shopping guide to help Latino shoppers make healthy choices among the endless food options available at supermarkets today.

2. Latin American Diet Recipe Contest featured on the Oldways and LNC Web sites and on the official Oldways Table Blog. Consumers should submit a recipe that uses at least two Latin American Diet products (list is featured on the Oldways Table Blog). Winners will be drawn at the end of the month, and announced on their Web sites. Prizes include wonderful Latino food products; autographed copies of the widely praised book, "The Oldways Table," chock-full of wonderful recipes and short essays about food and wine experiences; and the new poster of the Latin American Diet Pyramid.

3. A 2-foot-by-3-foot poster with an updated illustration of the Latin American Diet Pyramid will be available at The Oldways Store on Sept. 21, 2009.

Diabetes a major killer of Latinos

2009-09-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

Diabetes a major killer of Latinos
By Michael Collins, Ventura County Star, September 19, 2009

Diabetes is killing Latinos in Ventura County at twice the rate it is claiming lives in other racial and ethnic groups.

Nearly 6 percent of Latinos who died in Ventura County in 2005 and 2006 were killed by diabetes, an examination of death records by The Star and Scripps Howard News Service shows.

That is twice the diabetes death rate for all racial groups and more than twice the rate for non-Latino whites and African-Americans.

Doctors say those numbers are alarming but hardly shocking. Diabetes has been increasing for years among Latinos, they say, not only among adults but also teenagers and young children.

“These numbers don’t surprise me at all,” said Dr. Theresa Cho, who runs the adult diabetes clinic at Ventura County Medical Center. “It’s just a reality that we deal with on a daily basis.’’

Reported figures probably low

The diabetes death rate might be even higher than the numbers suggest, doctors say, because people with the disease often die from other conditions. In those cases, diabetes would not be listed on the death certificate as the cause of death, although it often is a contributing factor.

“Diabetes as a direct cause of death may be underrepresented because most people die from the complications of the disease,” said Dr. Robert Gonzalez, medical director for the Ventura County Health Care Agency.

“Diabetes increases the incidence of stroke, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, kidney failure, and all of those are major contributors to a person’s vulnerability.”

The Star examined the 474,163 deaths reported in California and the 9,679 reported in Ventura County in 2005 and 2006. The statistics were provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The study found the diabetes death rate in Ventura County is closely in line with statewide figures.

In California, 5.4 percent of Latinos who died during the two-year period were killed by diabetes — nearly twice the rate for all races and more than twice the death rate for non-Latino whites.

In Ventura County, the diabetes death rate for Latinos was 5.7 percent, compared with 2.2 percent for non-Latino whites and African-Americans and 2.9 percent for all racial groups combined. In hard numbers, 92 of the county’s 1,628 Latinos who died in 2005-06 were killed by diabetes.

In Los Angeles County, the diabetes death rate among Latinos was 5.6 percent. In Santa Barbara County, it was 5.7 percent.

10% of U.S. Latinos afflicted

Nearly 2.5 million Latinos in the United States, or roughly 10 percent of the nation’s Latino population, are afflicted with diabetes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Diabetes Education Program.

By 2050, the agency predicts, two of five Latino young people, and one in two Latino females born in the year 2000, will have developed diabetes.

Because of genetics and childhood obesity, diabetes is starting to show up in Latinos at a much younger age.

Recently, a 7-year-old Latino boy was treated for Type 2 diabetes by doctors at Clinicas del Camino Real, which operates 10 health clinics across Ventura County, said Dr. Anil Chawla, the agency’s medical director.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t make enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin it makes. It usually develops in adults older than 40 but is becoming more prevalent in children and adolescents.

Chawla said she sees a lot of teenagers and people in their early 20s who have developed Type 2 diabetes. Many, like the 7-year-old boy, are overweight, she said.

Some studies have suggested Latinos might be genetically predisposed to diabetes. But doctors in Ventura County say other factors also are contributing to the diabetes death rate, including diet, economic challenges and culture.

For example, cooking with lard is still prevalent in the Latino community, which can add to weight gain and obesity. The Latino diet also is heavy in starches, which is true for a lot of cultures. Latinos, however, tend to eat a lot of starchy foods in one setting, Cho said.

“It’s something that is very much a part of the culture, to have tortillas and the beans and the rice all in one meal,” she said. “The important message we send to people is it’s not that we are asking them to stop eating those foods, but they need to eat them in moderation.”

Free screenings available

Cho’s clinic often does outreach programs that include free diabetes screenings in areas with high concentrations of Latinos in hopes of catching the disease early before serious complications set in.

“We do discover some people who actually had no idea they were diabetic,” she said.

Even when diabetes is diagnosed, medical experts say, many Latinos don’t get proper healthcare because they can’t afford it or think they can’t afford it.

Some Latinos in Ventura County are migrant workers with incomes at the federal poverty level. To them, “medical care can seem like a daunting task and an incredible economic burden,” Gonzalez said.

The Ventura County Health Care Agency, which oversees two hospitals and more than two dozen health clinics, tries to help them overcome those economic barriers by offering a self-pay discount policy in which medical fees are based on a patient’s ability to pay.

The agency also recently set up a program to provide healthcare for the uninsured. Some 12,000 people have enrolled so far, Gonzalez said, and about 40 percent have chronic illnesses, such as diabetes.

“I think we have good access to care,” Gonzalez said, “but it’s all about whether the person perceives that it’s there.”

A number of places in Ventura County offer healthcare and other services for diabetics.

Cho’s clinic, for example, has two staff dietitians, a nurse educator and a registered nurse who take a team approach to patients’ diabetes care. Once a treatment decision has been made, the educator will meet with the patient to discuss issues such as how to self-administer an insulin shot. A dietitian also will instruct the patient on what kinds of foods to eat and avoid.

Some stores color-code food

The Westminster Free Clinic, a largely volunteer clinic that provides free healthcare for disadvantaged working families in east county, offers diabetic counseling classes in Spanish.

The clinic also has a program in which foods at participating grocery stores are color-coded to promote healthy eating habits for people with diabetes and heart disease.

“I’m dealing with the poorest of the poor — people who are uninsured, working poor, uninsured-trying-to-find-jobs poor, and homeless poor,” said Dr. Steven Kamajian, the clinic’s chief medical officer.

“A lot of them are illegal aliens, and they don’t qualify for benefits in the United States. I understand that, but they still need to be properly cared for. Healthcare is not a right, it’s not a privilege, it’s a necessity. It’s like clean water.”

Many don’t trust doctors

Latinos sometimes forgo traditional medical care for diabetes in favor of home remedies, such as drinking special teas or eating large amounts of cactus to control blood sugar.

Some have a deep distrust or even fear of insulin treatments, doctors say.

They might know of a relative or friend who took insulin and suffered other complications, such as blindness or kidney failure. They incorrectly associate those problems with the insulin, even though the real problem was that the diabetes was already in advanced stages when the patient sought treatment, Chawla said.

“It takes a lot of convincing that this happens over a long time; that vision problems are associated with diabetes and are not associated with insulin,” she said. “Some of them accept that. But some of them are really adamant about these problems.”

Hispanic unique cancer profile

2009-09-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

For Hispanics, a Unique Cancer Profile Emerges
AJC.com, Health

TUESDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Hispanics in the United States are less likely to die from cancer than non-Hispanic whites, but they have higher rates of cancers linked to infections, including stomach, liver and cervix malignancies, a new report says.

At first glance, Hispanics' lower death rate from cancer seems to be good news, but one explanation is that the Hispanic population skews younger than the general U.S. population. Cancer risk rises with age.

The new detailed look at cancer incidence is from Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2009-2011, a report released Sept. 15 that's published every three years by the American Cancer Society.

Hispanics are the largest, fastest-growing and youngest minority in the United States, according to the report. They also have a cancer risk profile that differs from whites and other ethnic groups.

Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from the four most common cancers: breast, prostate, colorectal and lung.

But Hispanics have higher rates of stomach cancer, associated with Helicobacter pylori infection; liver cancer, associated with hepatitis B and C infection; and cervical cancer, linked to human papillomavirus infection.

Immunizations against human papillomavirus in teenage girls can prevent cervical cancer, and regular gynecological screenings for women can catch cervical cancer early, but Hispanic women are less likely to get either, said Vilma Cokkinides, the American Cancer Society's director for risk factor surveillance.

And though Hispanics are less likely to smoke and drink alcohol, both risk factors for cancer, they are more likely to be poor, have fewer years of education and lack health insurance, barriers to getting recommended screenings, according to the report.

Hispanics are also more likely than whites to be diagnosed with breast and melanoma cancers at a later stage, when the cancers are more difficult to treat and have spread to other organs.

Cokkinides said that programs targeting Spanish-speakers about the importance of screening and risk factors for cancer could help, as could programs to increase access to medical insurance and medical care.

But one challenge in developing such programs, she said, is that the U.S. Hispanic population is diverse, with variations in country of origin, length of time in the United States, educational attainment and experience and knowledge of the health-care system.

"Things like mammograms and Pap smears aren't necessarily routine where people are coming from," Cokkinides said.

Yet certain lessons should be stressed across all cultures, she said.

"Avoidance of tobacco products, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a largely plant-based diet, minimizing alcohol consumption and exercising is good advice for everybody," Cokkinides said.

Hilary Waldman, a spokeswoman for the Hispanic Health Council in Hartford, Conn., said that it's not uncommon for Hispanic women to be diagnosed with later-stage cancers that could have been picked up sooner through proper screenings. The council runs a Spanish-language cancer support group for Hispanic women, in addition to its research and advocacy functions.

"There's a real lack of support for culturally appropriate and linguistically appropriate services for them," Waldman said.

And though many big-city hospitals have interpreters, smaller or suburban hospitals often don't, she said, adding that the complexity of cancer and its often-complicated treatment plans and serious side effects make interpreters all the more important.

In the support groups, Waldman said, women often talk about their distress in not being able to understand their doctors -- or having their doctors understand them.

"There's a big problem getting medical interpretation for people who don't speak English," she said. "There is no mechanism to pay for it. If you're lucky, they will bring in the housekeeper or somebody who happens to be around to translate."

The inability to communicate, combined with financial issues, has led some women to skip appointments, Waldman said.

Nearly 99,000 Hispanics in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2009, according to the American Cancer Society. Among men, prostate is the most common malignancy; among women, it's breast cancer. Colorectal cancer is the second-most common cancer in both Hispanic men and women.

About 18,800 Hispanics will die from cancer in 2009, the society estimates. Among men, lung and colorectal cancer cause the most deaths, whereas breast and lung cancer are the top two killers of women.

The American Cancer Society has more on racial and ethnic disparities and cancer.

Latino aids awareness day planned

2009-09-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

2nd SACRAMENTO LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY
PRESS RELEASE

As the largest minority group in the U.S., Hispanics are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Hispanics comprised 15% of the U.S. population or 44.3 million people, yet represented 18% of the HIV/AIDS cases.

October 15 is National Latino AIDS Awareness Day (NLAAD). This date marks an opportunity for the greater Sacramento area to increase awareness of the devastating and disproportionate effects of AIDS in the Hispanic community. Out reach activities include: A community prayer, and news conference, media and live presentations, and FREE on-site testing.

As of July 31, 2008, California had 180,997 cumulative reported HIV/AIDS cases; of these, 43,510 or 24 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases were Latinos.

"Call to Action" to the Sacramento community to attend and participate with invited speakers, activists, health service organizations, Hispanic performers, entertainers and local TV & radio celebrities to advocate, educate and promote the National Latino Aids Awareness Day locally.

PLANNED EVENT
2nd SACRAMENTO LATINO AIDS AWARENESS DAY
Thursday Oct 15th 2009 at 5:30PM - 9:00PM.
Sacramento Cultural Arts Center
6520 44th Street Ste. 308, Sacramento, California 95823

For more information, contact: Frank Lizárraga, 916.267.3689 lizarraga@lovetaxi.biz or Eliego López (MAAP, Inc), 916.394.2320 x256, eliegolopez@maap.org

Latino physician responds to firing

2009-09-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

Prominent Latino physician responds to firing
MD Daily Record, September 11, 2009

Serrano case deserves close attention
If the facts submitted as evidence in this case are reflective of what actually took place (“Fired doctor seeks $24M,” Aug. 26), the integrity tenets of the entire surgical training program at [Johns Hopkins Hospital] have been violated.

Although these cases are rare, they must not be ignored because the outcome will determine policies, processes and systems that will impact surgical training programs across the country.
As details become flushed out, is what Dr. [Oscar K.] Serrano did of such an egregious nature that he should be summarily fired? If this is his first offense, it certainly seems very heavy-handed and over-reacting. Was he given a chance to cure his performance deficiencies?

The apparent outstanding background of Dr. Serrano reflects the over-achieving traits that are found in most Latino medical students and physicians.

Workforce diversity studies and the under supply of Latino physicians in the United States further support the need for Latino post-graduate training residents to be valued and supported since the need is so great and the supply is so [limited].

This case needs to be brought to the attention of all key stakeholders in the field of post-graduate physician training who are impacted by decisions to terminate physician residents.

Robert A. Beltran, M.D., M.B.A.
President, Latino Med Policy Institute
Los Alamitos, Calif.

Latino group says reforms may threaten healthcare

2009-09-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

DRACONIAN REFORM PROPOSALS MAY THREATEN HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS, SAYS NCLR
PRESS RELEASE

Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, expressed serious concerns regarding the recent actions of President Obama and Congress that could prevent gains for Latinos and other Americans in health care reform.

“We support health care reform and the process of moving legislation forward, but we are concerned that the tone of the debate has put roadblocks in front of meaningful reform. Health care policies should not be dictated by a heckler. NCLR cautioned decision-makers that giving in to the dishonesty of Representative Wilson would undermine U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, and that is what has happened,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

NCLR is aware that the president does not support health care for undocumented immigrants, but a public commitment from the administration to ensure that those who are here legally are covered under health care reform has not been demonstrated either.

Legislation released by the Senate Finance Committee creates state exchanges and offers tax credits for individuals to purchase affordable health insurance. The proposal has some clear effects on Latinos and immigrants:

- Undocumented immigrants, including children, are explicitly barred from purchasing any coverage through the health insurance exchange, even if they or their parents can afford to pay full price. Legal residents and U.S. citizens in the family or household may have access to coverage in the exchange.
- Most legal immigrants are required to purchase insurance and are eligible for tax credits and the health insurance exchanges to choose a private health care plan. Some of the very poorest may not qualify.
- The legislation would examine health disparities through data collection. The quality of health care may not be enhanced for Latinos, since many previous health disparities provisions that have been a part of the Senate Finance Committee’s plans have been removed.
- All individuals may need to go through extensive verification before they can gain access to health coverage. The proposal contains requirements for every citizen and legal immigrant to verify their status. The only publicly discussed proposals on verification have gone beyond the pale, imposing costly bureaucracy and red tape in the system.
- U.S. citizens or legal immigrants living with an undocumented person may have their tax credits reduced or entirely eliminated, even though they are mandated to purchase coverage.
Moving forward, NCLR urges Congress to take immediate action to shift the focus of the health care reform debate back to passing health care reform. Specifically, Congress must fix the plethora of flaws in the health care reform plans and ensure that no further harm is done.

“NCLR urges Congress to immediately stop putting bad politics in front of sound policy. Senator Bob Menendez and Senator Jeff Bingaman and a number of Senate Finance Committee members have worked with the Chair and deserve credit for undoing some of the harm to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants that has happened in the past week, but we must do more to ensure the security and stability of reform for Americans. Left unaddressed, the plan has the potential to drive up costs, leave people uncovered, and threaten public health,” Murguía said.

WIN TICKETS TO SEE THE SPACE THRILLER "PANDORUM"

2009-09-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

MOVIE TICKET GIVEAWAY

Be the first to email us and win tickets to the movie screening of “PANDORUM” a space thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster. Just be the first to email us at latinojournal.net. All movie screenings are scheduled for September 24th at 8 p.m. in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, and Chicago.

About the Movie
Two astronauts awaken in a hyper-sleep chamber aboard a seemingly abandoned spacecraft. It’s pitch black, they are disoriented, and the only sound is a low rumble and creak from the belly of the ship. They can’t remember anything: Who are they? What is their mission?

With Lt. Payton (Quaid) staying behind to guide him via radio transmitter, Cpl. Bower (Foster) ventures deep into the ship and begins to uncover a terrifying reality. Slowly the spacecraft’s shocking, deadly secrets are revealed…and the astronauts find their own survival is more important than they could ever have imagined.

This movie ticket giveaway will end Monday, September 21, 2009. To win, all you need to do is be the first to email us at latinojournal@gmail.com. Don’t delay so you can enjoy this space thriller on September 24.

Healthcare a patchwork for Hispanic immigrants

2009-09-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

For sick U.S. migrants, healthcare a patchwork
By Tim Gaynor, Reuters, Sep 13, 2009

PHOENIX, Sept 13 (Reuters) - When Mexican illegal immigrant Jose Luis Lopez developed a skin allergy, he went to a doctor and paid $50 for a consultation.

When day laborer Daniel Galindo got an upset stomach, he sought traditional Mexican folk remedies at a local "yerberia," curing himself with infusions of herbs.

When Roberto Robles' wife got sick with diabetes, he took her to the local hospital emergency room for treatment -- and paid nothing.

"They didn't want to treat her, but in the end they gave her an injection of insulin ... they didn't charge us," said Robles, 50, as he touted for work outside a Wal-Mart store in Phoenix.

As President Barack Obama pushes a controversial overhaul of the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system to cut costs, improve care and regulate insurers, Americans are divided over whether the 12 million mostly Hispanic illegal immigrants living stateside will get coverage. On the wane as a hot political issue, immigration flared again over healthcare.

Obama made explicit in his address to Congress last week that the proposal, at a cost of nearly $1 trillion over 10 years, would expand coverage to 30 million Americans who are now uninsured, but would not cover illegal immigrants living and working in the shadows.

But some Republican critics do not believe him -- including Representative Joe Wilson who shouted "You lie" during Obama's speech when he said healthcare for illegal immigrants would not be covered. Wilson later apologized for the outburst.

The facts are difficult to establish, in part as there is no widely accepted national estimate of the annual cost of healthcare for illegal immigrants.

As Democrats and Republican lawmakers continue to spar over the issue, public health experts say migrants currently patch together care from a variety of sources, including paid visits to clinics, trips to traditional healers and yerberias as well as emergency room care.

"If things get really bad, they will go to the emergency department," said Michael R. Cousineau, a specialist in public health at the University of Southern California.

Otherwise they "cobble the care (together) as best they can," he added.

RASHES AND STOMACH ACHES

Around 6.1 million adult illegal immigrants go without health insurance in the United States, according to an estimate by the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2007.

Cousineau said migrants used disproportionately fewer medical services and contributed less to healthcare costs in relation to their population share, in part because they were fearful of seeking care.

"The use rate among undocumented immigrants is quite a bit lower than similar people who are here legally," he said.

Standing in the shade of an acacia tree as they sought work in Phoenix this week, several day laborers painted a vivid picture of improvised care, not dissimilar to many Americans among the 46 million people without health insurance.

Mexican construction worker Jose Luis Lopez, 45, said he paid to see a doctor after developing an allergic reaction to insulation materials he handled at work.

"I had a rash ... the doctor charged me $50 and gave me (a course of) little pills for three days," he said, speaking in Spanish.

Odd jobber Daniel Galindo, meanwhile, sought treatment for an upset stomach at his local yerberia -- a traditional store packed with herbal remedies, votive candles and esoteric items such as soaps to wash away bad luck.

"I go to the yerberia if it's a stomach ache," said Galindo, 32, who paid a few dollars for the remedy. "Otherwise I walk, run and cycle, and eat fruit and vegetables to stay healthy," he added.

But when laborer Francisco Cortes, 31, came down with the flu, he said he opted to shrug it off and go out to look for work -- something which is increasingly scarce in the current downturn.

"With flu, fevers and that type of thing it's just a matter of pull yourself together and go out and earn a crust to support your family," he said. (Additional reporting by Matthew Bigg in Atlanta)

Hispanics face high cancer risk indoors

2009-09-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hispanics face high cancer risk from breathing household chemical
By Janet Wilson, Environmental Health News, September 11, 2009

Elena Rios still remembers going into the bathroom as a child and smelling a pungent odor from the big, round air freshener hanging on the back of the toilet.

“I’m Mexican American, I grew up in Los Angeles, and I can tell you that particular product was in all the stores in the neighborhood, at low cost,” said Rios, a doctor who currently heads the National Hispanic Medical Assn.

Now a new study concludes that heavy use of these products could be jeopardizing the health of consumers, particularly Hispanics, across the country.

Among residents tested in parts of Houston, Los Angeles, and Elizabeth, NJ, Hispanics faced a cancer risk from air pollutants as much as five times the rate of non-Hispanic whites. But it wasn’t outdoor air causing the greatest risk; it was something much closer to home: A chemical, called p-dichlorobenzene, found in many inexpensive toilet deodorizers and moth repellents in bathrooms and closets.

Inside Houston homes with the highest levels of the chemical, 16 out of every 1,000 Hispanic residents were at risk of cancer. In the New Jersey city, six out of every 1,000 were at risk, and in Los Angeles, four out of every 1,000..

Experts say such a high cancer danger from a single source is highly unusual. Federal guidelines usually consider ten cancers per million people an “acceptable” risk; in some of the Hispanic households, the cancer risk is about 1,000-fold higher.

“The risk numbers we’re talking about for that group are comparable to or greater than what we see for radon, which has been identified as the most dangerous hazard in homes in the country by far,” said Richard Corsi, a professor specializing in indoor air pollution at the University of Texas at Austin. He was one of the authors of the study, which was published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives last month.

Many of the products contain 100 percent p-dichlorobenzene packaged in large, white tablets or blocks that can be hung inside the back of toilets or placed in men’s urinals. The chemical also is used in some mothballs, and in moth-repellent crystals packaged in miniature hangers. The products are designed to release the substance into the air in confined spaces, meaning it sticks to clothes and skin and is repeatedly inhaled.

Corsi and the other authors said their findings were alarming, particularly because Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the United States. “Hispanic” was a designation researchers assigned to people who spoke Spanish as their first language and those who identified themselves as Hispanic.

The researchers are not sure why Hispanics had sharply higher exposure. But they noted that the products cost less than other deodorizers, and that they may have been more readily available in countries from which they emigrated.

Rios, from the Hispanic medical association in Washington, D.C., said marketers have targeted generations of Latino Americans with the cheap air fresheners.

“It’s because of the stores in the neighborhood, and the buying patterns for low income neighborhoods, where you have limited opportunities for purchasing products,” she said.

Other populations, such as people in colder climates who keep windows closed or use more mothballs in coat closets, also might be at higher risk. Some mothballs contain p-dichlorobenzene while others are made of another chemical, naphthalene.

“Basically if Caucasians were using more of these products, I would expect their exposures and risks would be just as high,” Corsi said.

The authors cautioned that the study was based on only a couple hundred volunteers, which is not statistically representative of the country. But they, along with researchers not involved with the study, said the findings are important because they were so striking.

"These are just three locations in three parts of the country," said Tracey Woodruff, associate director of reproductive health and the environment at University of California, San Francisco. "Nonetheless, they have actual monitoring data, which to me is very powerful.”

The pollutants measured in the homes are “at a level that would be of concern. High concern,” said Woodruff, who specializes in research of hazardous air pollutants.

The authors of the new report recommended that products containing p-dichlorobenzene be removed from homes. There are plenty of other air fresheners available, they said, although they cost more.

“There’s a very simple answer…don’t let people purchase these products anymore,” said Corsi. “It doesn’t take a sophisticated air pollution control system to solve this problem.”

But regulating the products isn’t simple: They come under the authority of various federal and state agencies.

Air fresheners are regulated by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Officials from the commission did not return calls seeking comment about the products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulates moth repellants because they are considered pesticides. The agency has approved use of the chemical, although it requires the products to bear warnings such as "avoid breathing vapors" because they can irritate eyes and nasal passages and cause liver problems.

Regulators from various agencies disagree about the level of human threat that these products pose. In animal tests, p-dichlorobenzene causes kidney and liver tumors.

The EPA and the Dept. of Health and Human Services decided years ago that p-dichlorobenzene was a hazardous air pollutant and possible human carcinogen. As a result, the EPA regulates its industrial emissions. But the arm of EPA that approves pesticides concluded in 2007 that it was “not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.” A full assessment is now being conducted, an agency spokeswoman said.

Maria Morandi, the study’s principal investigator, explained that p-dichlorobenzene is a milder carcinogen than other substances, meaning it could take years of high-level exposure to develop cancer. The EPA only looked at low levels of exposure from the products, while the new data show some Hispanics are breathing extremely high levels, said Morandi, a recently retired University of Texas at Houston assistant professor of environmental sciences and occupational health.

California has banned bathroom products containing p-dichlorobenzene since 2006. The city of Seattle, New York State’s corrections department, and New York City’s fire department also have banned them. Urinal blocks traditionally have been used in some prisons and firehouses.

“It’s nasty stuff,” said Dmitri Stanich, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, which regulates air pollutants. “We banned it as an air freshener because it’s carcinogenic. Our position is it’s not safe.”

However, mothballs and miniature hangers loaded with the substance are still on sale in California because they come under the control of a separate state agency.

The California Dept. of Pesticide Regulation this year began to assess the potential hazards of the moth products. “We are evaluating whether additional restrictions are necessary,” said Mary-Ann Warmerdam, the department’s director.

Willert Home Products, a leading manufacturer of home air freshener and closet products, said during California’s rulemaking that the levels people were exposed to were too low to cause harm, and that there was no evidence of human cancer. Calls to the company seeking comment on the new study were not returned.

In the study, 243 people wore personal monitors that measured their exposure to 12 major pollutants over 48-hour stretches. The results were based not on actual cancers, but on measured levels of the chemical, which were then used to calculate the estimated cancer risk. A larger study is being conducted.

Hispanic residents in Elizabeth and Houston had higher exposures than those in Los Angeles, probably because there were also greater exchanges of indoor and outdoor air in California. In the Los Angeles area, risk levels from the chemical were about equal for all populations, but still higher than federally accepted guidelines. The testing was done from 1999 to 2002, years before California’s partial ban was enacted.

Hispanics in the study also were exposed to higher levels of formaldehyde, probably from car upholstery and particle board used in some home construction.

And Latina women had higher exposure to chloroform, probably as a byproduct of cleaning with chlorine. But by far the highest levels of exposure were from p-dichlorobenzene.

The researchers said their findings show that consumers should be wary of household chemicals because the risk of inhaling them can be more dangerous than breathing the polluted air outside.

Rios said she was glad that scientists were studying Hispanics’ exposure to chemicals in consumer products. “Nobody realized the dangers about pesticides and migrant workers for a long time either,” she said.

Lupus worse among Hispanics, Blacks

2009-09-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Lupus Worse in Blacks, Hispanics Than in Whites, Study Finds
They're more likely to have conditions that complicate treatment, researchers say
Kevin McKeever, Health MSN

FRIDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Blacks and Hispanics appear more likely than whites to develop the most common form of the autoimmune disease lupus and to develop more severe complications from it, new research shows.

Lupus, also known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a chronic inflammatory disease that often affects the joints, kidneys, blood and nervous system, is generally known to strike women more often than men and some ethnic groups more than others. Its severity can range from mild to fatal.

The study, published in the summer issue of the journal Ethnicity & Disease, was based on six years of data from lupus patients in Dallas-Fort Worth-area hospitals. The researchers found that white patients were half as likely as other ethnic groups to have the disease.

Hispanic women tended to have the most severe lupus cases, which often were complicated by the presence of other diseases. These women, for example, had a 61 percent greater chance of having kidney inflammation -- or nephritis -- in addition to lupus, and a 55 percent greater likelihood of also having diabetes, the study found.

In all, Hispanic and black patients with SLE were twice as likely as whites to also have nephritis, kidney failure and inflammation of the heart lining, all of which complicate the treatment and severity of the disease, according to the researchers.

"Ethnic minority populations have a higher incidence of severe SLE for several reasons, such as a lower socioeconomic status, barriers to adequate health care and genetic predisposition," lead author Katie Crosslin, a research scientist at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, said in a news release issued by the journal's publisher.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about lupus.

Hispanics struggle with obesity

2009-09-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Outside the Superstar Spotlight, Minorities Struggle With Obesity
By Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, September 15, 2009

As any sports fan knows, Labor Day weekend is like Christmas in September. The NFL season is about to start, and the speed, power and grace of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is on display. The U.S. Open is in full swing, with Serena Williams tearing through the field as usual. Baseball is heading toward the playoffs; the superhuman Albert Pujols has a shot at the Triple Crown. The majestic Michael Jordan has been inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame and it won't be long before Kobe and LeBron are back on the floor.

Yet here is the irony I couldn't escape as I sat in front of my television, taking it all in: The overall fitness level of the minority groups those superstars represent is appalling. By any measure that matters, blacks and Hispanics are in worse shape than whites -- who, of course, are firmly in the grip of the obesity epidemic themselves.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38.2 percent of whites over the age of 18 did no physical exercise (outside of work) in 2006. For blacks, the figure was 48.9 percent and for Hispanics it was an astonishing 53.4 percent.

The result of these disparities is sadly easy to predict. Fully 54 percent of African American women older than 20 are obese -- not overweight, obese -- by CDC standards. For Hispanics, the proportion is 42 percent, and for whites it is 32 percent. In combination with generally poorer diets and less access to medical care, that level of physical inactivity helps explain why minorities suffer proportionately more hypertension, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Their life expectancies also are shorter.

A larger percentage of African American and Hispanic children ages 6 to 19 are overweight than their white counterparts.
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The reasons for this state of affairs are controversial and -- as with all matters of race, income and personal motivation -- a difficult subject. We'll get to them in a moment. But I bring this up now for a number of reasons.

On Wednesday night, President Obama, a fitness freak, delivered his long-awaited address on overhauling the U.S. health-care system, an effort that all sides agree must place greater emphasis on preventive measures such as improved diet and more exercise. And with summer ending, we'll all soon be spending a lot more time indoors. If you're like me, you'll be packing on the winter pounds.

Yet the approach of autumn also brings us the first annual (and possibly the first-ever) "walk-off" against obesity. On Saturday, Sept. 12, thousands of people in more than 50 cities are scheduled to assemble against this killer.

The event is organized by Ian Smith, who launched the "50 Million Pound Challenge" in 2007. If you don't watch VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club" or read diet books, you may not recognize "Dr. Ian," as his fans know him. (I'd never heard of him until a colleague mentioned his name.) But among African Americans, the slim, Dartmouth-educated physician is well-known for creating a national organization that has confronted their health problems and enlisted tens of thousands in a bid to lose weight. The group has since branched out and is trying to appeal to all races.

"Listen, the swine flu isn't going to kill a tenth of the people that obesity kills on an annual basis," Smith said in an interview. "This is one of the biggest health concerns for America, and we can't get people to talk about it. . . . The sense of urgency isn't there."

One of the walk sites is in Alexandria, where Mayor William D. Euille will lead a team of about 150 people for a 1.5-mile walk. Over the past four years, Euille, an African American, has lost 60 pounds from his 5-foot-9 frame and kept it off.

"I got tired of hearing and reading and seeing obese kids and watching primarily African Americans suffer diabetes and high blood pressure," he said. "My role, being African American, and being leader of this city, [is that] I'm the best person to deliver that message.

"No more excuses," Euille said. "It is as simple as just walking."

Or is it? Here is where experts disagree, and close examination of cultural and environmental factors makes solutions more elusive than they first appear.

Yes, obesity is a problem for all races and ethnic groups in this country and, generally speaking, affects people of all income levels. But higher proportions of the poor, minorities and the less educated tend to be obese, research shows.

Start with the traditional African American diet, Smith said, one rich in salty, fried food, a menu that has been handed down over generations. Add a greater acceptance of plus-size bodies by both African American men and women, along with some women's disdain for exercise, and the cultural factors are stacked against blacks, he said.

If you're poor, you may be sacrificing leisure time and exercise to make ends meet. Your grocery store may be stocked with cheaper, less healthful food. You probably have less access to fitness facilities, your neighborhood may not have sidewalks, and the local park may be the place where gangs hang out or drugs are sold, rather than a safe haven for an evening jog.

If you think this is a bunch of liberal excuses, you should know that it is supported by research. David Marquez, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who studies the physical activity levels of Hispanics, said in a CDC survey of more than 20,000 of them, many Hispanic women feel that working, caring for their families and running their homes leaves them no leisure time at all.

Older Latinas also suggest that the only appropriate exercise for women is walking or dancing, Marquez said. Which is why he is trying to launch programs that center on dance as the primary form of physical activity.

NiCole Keith, an associate professor of physiology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, participated in one of the few studies of exercise that controlled for income. Researchers gave poor and moderate-income blacks equal access to fitness resources and -- surprise! -- they exercised at the same rates. Keith says poverty and environmental factors are unquestionably part of the equation.

"If you live in a dangerous area, you cannot get out and walk and run," she said. "If you say, 'You can walk on your lunch hour,' you're making the assumption that you have a job with a lunch hour. And you're assuming everybody can walk when many morbidly obese individuals simply cannot."

In recent years, Keith has had some success persuading Indianapolis principals to open school facilities after hours in inner-city neighborhoods so that adults and kids can exercise. She and colleagues have led videoconference exercise routines for people too infirm or too large to get outside for a walk. They also have tried adding exercise rooms to public housing projects. Urban planners are being educated on the importance of sidewalks. And the American College of Sports Medicine's Exercise Medicine Campaign calls on policymakers to require doctors to counsel patients on physical activity during primary care visits.

"If facilities are available and affordable or free, people will go," Keith said.

Comments: misfits@washpost.com.

Hispanic health fair held in Elkhart County

2009-09-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Hispanic Health Care Coalition of Elkhart County holds health fair
WNDU, Sep 12, 2009

As lawmakers argue about health care reform, here in Michiana volunteers were doing their best to help out those who can't afford health care.

Saturday, the Hispanic Health Coalition of Elkhart County held a health fair. Hundreds of community members came out for free health screenings. The screenings were made possible by $ 7,000 in donations from area organizations and health care professionals.

Organizers say the need in this community is great and that's why more than 300 volunteers were out bright and early to help out.

“There is a huge need. We have a lot of people who are unemployed, a lot of people who are losing their insurance and if they had insurance they aren't using it because they need the extra money at home,” event organizer Liliand Quintero said.

Hispanic families are grateful for the health fair happening so they can have their health care concerns take careful.

“It helps a lot of the Hispanic families who don’t' have insurance get a lot of their health concerns answered,” fair attendee Maria Figueroa said.

The health fair offered 25 different screenings for kids and adults.