VIDEO: Immigrants Pushing Apples in the Big Apple

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2 days ago
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In The Apple Pushers, a critically-acclaimed documentary that follows a group of New York immigrants who are eliminating food deserts in their urban communities, filmmakers follow five street vendors who are part of a unique program called the NYC Green Cart Initiative, which deploys pushcart vendors to bring produce to underserved New York neighborhoods, PreventObesity.net reports.

It’s a somewhat typical story for the obesity field, a tale about a public-private partnership working to tackle a local problem through creative means.

The documentary, narrated by actor Edward Norton, also helps viewers get to know the vendors pushing those carts around, telling the touching stories of five immigrants striving to achieve the American dream.

Watch the trailer here or below.

Study: ‘Photovoice’ Empowers Latino Youth to Spark Health Policy Change

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3 days ago
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Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 11 is Dr. Robert Dudley. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Robert Dudley

Dr. Robert Dudley
“Healthy Tomorrows for Latina Teens”

In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Robert Dudley of Community Health Center, Inc., evaluated Health Tomorrows for Latina Teens, a five-year, federally-funded obesity prevention and advocacy training program for adolescent girls in New Britain, Conn.

To identify factors that promote or prevent physical activity among Latina teens, Dr. Dudley’s team taught girls Photovoice—a research method that puts cameras in people’s hands to assess community problems and assets, and then connects them to policymakers to pursue change.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • barriers prevent Latina teen activity;
  • photovoice can address these barriers; and
  • photovoice can expedite policy change by facilitating direct, informal dialogue between policymakers and Latino youth.

The project spurred the local school district to add a P.E. credit recovery program. Two of the project’s participating teen girls also made a stirring presentation to their city council asking to clean and reopen two closed pools at local parks to add more activity options in town (see video below).

Results indicate that Photovoice is a viable, low-cost means of empowering Latina teens to develop leadership and advocacy skills. Further, the program helps to generate community support for increased physical activity.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

VIDEO: The Risks of Consuming Sugary Drinks

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4 days ago
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Check out this new Spanish video from the “Life’s Sweeter” campaign, which provides information and tools for the reduction of sugary drink consumption.

Visit the campaign, led by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, here in English or Spanish.

Advances in Latino Cancer Screening, Liver Cancer, Obesity & More

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5 days ago
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Find the latest in Latino health—from helping underserved Latinos get cancer screening, to exploring reasons why liver cancer is on the rise among Latinos, to helping Latinos pursue doctoral degrees—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The IHPR E-newsletter has these stories:

  • Story and Video: A New Way to Help Underserved Local Latinos Get Cancer Screens (Pg 1)
  • Story: How Did an IHPR Employee Get a Coveted Internship Using His Christmas Present? (Pg 2)
  • Story: New Research Briefs Examine Obesity in Latino Youths (Pg 3)
  • Videos: New Training Videos on Patient Navigation (Pg 4)
  • Story: Apply by 3/1/12 for Éxito to Get Help Pursuing a Doctoral Degree (Pg 5)
  • Story: Latino Liver Cancer Rates Are on Rise…But Why? (Pg 6)
  • Story: Sugary Drinks 101 for Latinos (Pg 9)

Find much more on local and national health disparities-related news, funding, resources and events by visiting the IHPR’s website.

Study: School Compliance with P.E. Policies Matters for Latino Children’s Fitness

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6 days ago
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Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 10 is Dr. Emma Sanchez. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Emma Sanchez

Dr. Emma Sanchez
“The Role of Physical Education Policies in California”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Emma Sanchez of San Francisco State University used existing data to investigate whether school district compliance with California physical education (P.E.) requirements influences fitness among the state’s Latino children.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • most Latino students attended school in districts that did not comply with P.E. policies;
  • compared with Latino children in non-policy compliant districts, those in districts that complied with P.E. policies were significantly less likely to be overweight or obese; and
  • school district compliance with P.E. policies matters for physical fitness.

These results suggest that school district compliance with P.E. policies may be an important determinant of Latino children’s fitness status. These findings imply that population-level approaches including policy mandates for P.E. in schools may contribute to overall improvements and reduced disparities in children’s physical activity and fitness levels.

However, the success of these approaches is likely to depend on adequate funding to ensure that policies can be fully implemented and that compliance can be monitored in every school.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

New Spanish-Language Podcasts on Quitting Smoking, Autism, Healthcare and Asthma

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1 week ago
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The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Healthcare 411 audio news source provides practical health care information, research findings, and data in English and Spanish to help consumers, health providers, health insurers, researchers, and policymakers make informed decisions about health care issues.

The site offers some brand-new Spanish-language podcasts on these topics:

Consejos para dejar de fumar: Provides suggestions to help individuals break their smoking habit.

Terapias para niños con trastornos del espectro autista: Discusses treatment options for children with autism

Toma las riendas: Discusses how patients can increase their awareness about common healthcare issues

Disparidades en el uso de medicamentos para el asma: Discusses the disparities of asthma medication usage among the Latino community

To view more Spanish-language programs, go here.

Telenovelas: Are Spanish-Language Soap Operas Good for Your Health?

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1 week ago
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The latest in Spanish-language soap operas, or telenovelas, are more than just about romance and personal scandal, they’re debuting some very clear messages on health care for Latinos in the U.S., specifically Colorado, PBS Newshour reports.

Read more about the new telenovelas here or watch this video.

Watch Are Spanish-Language Soap Operas Good for Your Health? on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Study: Doctors Give Less Attention to Latino Children Who Are Overweight But Not Obese

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1 week ago
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Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 9 is Dr. Javier Rosado. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Javier Rosado

Dr. Javier Rosado
“Paying Attention to Children’s Weight in Pediatric Primary Care”

In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Javier Rosado of Florida State University assessed how much weight-related medical attention children get during well-child checkups at a pediatric community health center in a rural, largely Latino migrant farm-worker community in Florida.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • some parents are not concerned about their child’s weight;
  • obesity among girls raised the highest concern. The child’s gender also influences physician action; and
  • physicians give little attention to children who are overweight but not obese.

These findings highlight the need for programs that facilitate parental interest, concern and confidence in influencing their child’s health and weight—particularly as parents in our study were frequently unaware of their child’s weight status.

Physicians also need to be equipped with guidelines and tools that facilitate accurate diagnosis and treatment of childhood obesity, and any such guidelines must address parent and child motivation to engage in treatment.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Apply for Next Class of ‘School Food Changemakers’

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1 week ago
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FoodCorps, a national organization that addresses childhood obesity and food insecurity in underserved communities, recently opened applications for its second annual class of service members.

Selected emerging leaders will dedicate one year of full-time public service in school food systems—expanding hands-on nutrition education programs, building and tending school gardens, and sourcing fresh, healthy, local food for school cafeterias.

In its first year, FoodCorps gained national attention by attracting 1,229 applicants for just 50 positions. The first class of service members have already made a difference in their local schools—from getting hundreds of pounds of local sweet potatoes onto cafeteria trays, to revitalizing and building 137 school and community gardens, to engaging 250 local volunteers.

FoodCorps seeks up to 100 men and women with a passion for serving their country as AmeriCorps service members by building healthy communities in 12 states around the country.

In addition to the 10 states where it currently operates—Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon—FoodCorps plans to expand to Connecticut and Montana in 2012.

“We are looking for passionate people interested in forging careers in building a better food system,” said Cecily Upton, FoodCorps Service Program Director. “FoodCorps can help them get hands-on experience to build a future career in food, agriculture, and public health.”

Applications are due March 25, 2012. Get more info here.

Study: Mother-Daughter Exercise Program Improves Latina Girls’ Activity, Weight

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1 week ago
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Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 8 is Dr. Norma Olvera. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Norma Olvera

Dr. Norma Olvera
“Combating Obesity and Inactivity in Latina Girls”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Norma Olvera of the University of Houston assessed the immediate and long-term impact of a program—Behavior Opportunities Uniting in Nutrition, Counseling, and Exercise (BOUNCE)—on indicators of obesity.

Mother-daughter pairs enrolled in BOUNCE participated in a four-week healthy lifestyle summer program, followed by a 12-week, family-based aerobic program.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • a family-centered exercise program successfully reduced obesity and increased physical activity levels in Latina girls; and
  • Latina girls steadily increased their daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week, with an average of 84.5 minutes.

Study finding suggest that Latina girls who participate in a family-centered exercise program during the summer are likely to reduce weight, body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage. Similarly, they are also likely to increase their moderate-to-vigorous activity.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

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