Posts tagged california

Video: Creative Way to Teach Health Education in a Latino School District

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3 months ago
by admin in

Check this great new video featuring an innovative health education effort in El Monte City School District in El Monte, Calif., a city that is nearly 70% Latino.

The video is from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Who is Èxito!: Melawhy Garcia

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3 months ago
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Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.

Mel Garcia

Melawhy Garcia
Anaheim, Calif.

Melawhy Garcia was just 17 when her mother was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure and colon cancer—unfortunately giving her firsthand knowledge of the income, insurance and other barriers faced by Latino cancer patients.

Since then, Garcia has put cancer in her crosshairs.

Garcia already has helped conduct research and awareness on cervical cancers and other health conditions prevalent among Latinos.

She emphasizes research on cancer prevention, obesity and more in her current position as the assistant director of the California State University, Long Beach, National Council of La Raza/CSULB Center for Latino Community Health. She is responsible for the center’s various health disparities programs in the Latino community.

Garcia, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public health from California State University, Long Beach, was seeking additional training on cancer topics.

A mentor led her to Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

Once in the program, Garcia gained the necessary tools, guidance, and mentoring required to successfully apply for a doctoral program.

Video: Investing in the Health of Youth in Santa Cruz County, California

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3 months ago
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Check out this new video about healthy changes being made in Santa Cruz County, Calif., one of six winners of the inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Roadmaps to Health Prize, which honors outstanding community partnerships helping people live healthier lives.

Using their Community Assessment Project Report’s local data as a guide, public and private community partners have pinpointed areas where they can make the biggest difference.

Santa Cruz County’s population is about 32% Hispanic.

Who is Èxito!: Steven Lopez

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4 months ago
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Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.

Steven Lopez

Steven Lopez
San Mateo, Calif.

Steven Lopez’s migrant parents beamed with pride as they dropped him off for his first year at Stanford University—in the same region of California which they had picked fruit from years before to make a living.

Appreciating the sacrifices and hard work of his parents to give him a better life and opportunities, Lopez dedicated himself to his studies and earned a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Stanford University.

In addition, Lopez obtained a master’s degree in public health and public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

With this level of education, Lopez worked as a fellow for the CDC in Laredo, Texas, coordinating the creating and implementation of a citywide obesity prevention initiative in collaboration with The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Now Lopez is a community health policy planner for the San Mateo County Health System, evaluating, developing, and planning health policy initiatives. He and his colleagues are looking at public health prevention from a very primary perspective—the way cities are built, the access we have to physical activity/nutrition opportunities, etc.—in order to prevent obesity, diabetes and certain cancers from even occurring.

Knowing his skills and his vast potential to earn a doctoral degree, several Laredo-area faculty members encouraged Lopez to apply for Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

“The [2012 Éxito! Summer Institute] played a very important role in guiding my next steps by: exposing me to other Latinos who have overcome barriers and life challenges; showing me various research interest and perspectives worth pursuing in a doctoral program; and providing me a network of students and professionals willing to be serve as mentors,” Lopez said.

He added: “Éxito! has increased my understanding of the opportunities that might be available once I pursue a PhD. I think, for me, that’s been a great gift, because sometimes you get ‘siloed’ into thinking what the opportunities may be, but this has expanded my understanding of what I can do with a PhD.”

Who is Èxito!: Aditi Wahi

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5 months ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.

Aditi Wahi

Aditi Wahi
Artesia, Calif.

Aditi Wahi practices “empathy”—that is, she tries to put herself into other people’s shoes, whether it’s helping her younger sister cope with a rare disease or recruiting pediatric patients and their parents pre-surgery and observing the children after.

Being in tune with and passionate for the people you are trying to help is a hallmark of being a strong cancer health disparities researcher, in addition to having strong methodological and other research skills.

Wahi has both.

She earned a bachelor’s of psychology and social behavior degree from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and analyzed daily electronic diaries of adolescent activities and compared the results to family history of chronic disease and physical activity behaviors at the Consortium for Integrative Health Studies at UCI.

Wahi now is pursuing her master’s degree and serves as a research assistant for a study on the behavioral interactions between prenatal, health care providers and child behaviors. She recruits pediatric patients and their families before surgery and observes children’s surgery recovery.

In search of direction and information for applying to a doctoral program related to cancer research, Aditi applied and was selected for Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

“The [2012 Éxito! Summer Institute] reaffirmed my belief to apply to doctoral programs. It opened up my eyes to additional opportunities in cancer research that I may not have previously thought of,” Wahi said. “It was also a tremendous experience to be surrounded by people with your same interests and that motivated me even more to go into a career in cancer research.”

Who is Èxito!: Helen Palomino

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6 months ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.

Helen Palomino

Helen Palomino
Brawley, Calif.

Helen Palomino didn’t go straight into a doctoral degree program after earning her master’s degree in social work from San Diego State University in 2008.

She had a good reason for postponing her doctoral aspirations.

Palomino instead focused on helping her children achieve their college degrees while also establishing her career in the field of clinical social work.

She continues to work as a medical social worker at the Cancer Resource Center of the Desert, a nonprofit organizations in California where she provides social services and resources to individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Each day, Palomino is faced with the uncertainty cancer brings to her patients, and she leans on her faith to give her the energy to deal with traumatic situations.

She knows that her ability to work one-on-one with cancer patients gives her the proper perspective and skills to become a skilled cancer health disparities researcher, and her desire to pursue a doctoral degree stems from wanting to better interact with and advocate for the people she serves.

Seeking direction on how to pursue a doctoral degree, Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

By the end of the program, Palomino said the path was clearer.

“[The] Éxito! Summer Institute provided me the insight and clarity for taking the next steps in pursuing a PhD program,” she said.

Study: Soda Tax Would Boost Health of Latinos, Blacks

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7 months ago
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Photo via the Rudd Center

A tax on soda would carry the greatest health benefits for black and Latino Californians, who face the highest risks of diabetes and heart disease, according to recent research findings, California Watch reports.

According to the news report:

The study found that if a penny-per-ounce tax was applied to soda, cuts in consumption would result in an 8 percent decline in diabetes cases among blacks and Latinos. The statewide reduction in new diabetes cases is projected at 3 to 5.6 percent, according to researchers from UC San Francisco, Columbia University and Oregon State University, who released their findings at a recent American Public Health Association annual meeting.

The study was unveiled as a sugar-sweetened beverage tax faces votes in El Monte, in Los Angeles County, and Richmond, in the Bay Area. A statewide excise tax was proposed but died in the California Legislature in 2010.

Latinos comprise about 64% of residents in Richmond and 70% in El Monte.

A penny-per-ounce tax would cut soda consumption by up to 20 percent, which would help eliminate 5 in 10,000 new diabetes cases for African Americans and 4 in 10,000 for Mexican-Americans, study lead author Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo told California Watch, although food and beverage spokesperson are quoted as saying that such a tax would hurt small businesses and isn’t proven to improve people’s health.

“It’s pretty clear that what’s necessary is some mechanism to increase price (enough) to curb consumption,” said Bibbins-Domingo.

Read about the study here, or read about how the soda taxes in these two cities are facing a crush by the soda industry.

Who is Èxito!: Diana Flores

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7 months ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.

Diana Flores

Diana Flores
San Mateo, Calif.

Some of Diana Flores’ extended family members didn’t want her to go to college.

They thought she should stick to a traditional Latina role—wife and mother—instead of “wasting” money and time on education.

But Flores’ mother and father encouraged her to pursue the educational career path she was passionate about.

With their support, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in public health (environmental health sciences and global health) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

“It was actually empowering, because I reached a point that nobody else in my family had achieved yet—getting a master’s degree,” Flores said. “So hopefully that caused [my extended family members] to see that moving away from home, going to school, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but is serving as an inspiration to the children of those who didn’t exactly support school at the beginning.”

Through her educational background and experience, Flores interned in occupational health for the California Department of Health, where she evaluated the usability of ergonomic jack hammers. She also worked as a teacher’s assistant for undergraduate molecular cell and developmental biology courses at UCLA.

She now aspires to earn a doctoral degree.

That’s why Flores applied for and was selected to join Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

She said she was impressed by hearing from Latino professors, researchers and academics during the 2012 Éxito! Summer Institute.

“You hear about the struggles they went through, and some of them pursued their PhDs when there wasn’t programs like Éxito!, or there weren’t other programs, and I heard their struggles and how they went about it, it’s very inspiring,” Flores said. “You know, if they were able to do it at a time they didn’t have the support, then if I put my mind to it then I should be able to do it as well.”

A Discussion of Childhood Obesity in the Latino Community: What Issues, Solutions Can Hispanic Media Highlight?

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series that will highlight the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s work in Latino communities across the country.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) are joining forces next week for an important discussion on childhood obesity in the Latino community.

The event will take place June 23 during the NAHJ Region 8 conference in Los Angeles and will focus on the role Hispanic media can play in reducing the epidemic.

Research shows Latino youth in the United States are more likely to be overweight or obese than their White peers and are at greater risk for developing heart disease, asthma, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and other health problems. The same holds true in California, where more than 46 percent of Latino fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders were overweight or obese between 2005 and 2010.

California was one of the first states to set strong nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold through school vending machines, à la carte cafeteria lines, school stores and other sources outside of school meals.

A recent study indicates California high school students consumed lower quantities of fat, sugar and calories in school than students in states with no such competitive food nutrition standards.

The childhood obesity discussion will be held at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. NAHJ President Michele Salcedo will open the panel with brief remarks. Abelardo de la Peña, editor and founder, LatinoLA.com, will serve as moderator.

Each of the panelists is a leader involved in efforts to improve the health of Latinos, including:

  • Rosa Sosa, project director, Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities – Baldwin Park, and regional director, California Center for Public Health Advocacy
  • Corina Ulloa, program coordinator, Network for a Healthy California, El Monte School District (which includes Rio Hondo Elementary School, only the third school in the nation to receive the Alliance for a Healthy Generation’s Healthy Schools Program Gold award)
  • Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, associate professor of research, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and co-principal investigator, USC Childhood Obesity Research Center’s MY LA (Minority Youth Leaders in Action) Camp Program

For more info, visit NAHJ.

VIDEO: A California Farmers’ Market Delivers Fresh Food to Low-Income Neighborhoods

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

What does it take to make a farmers’ market viable in a low-income community?

The answer is complicated in a neighborhood like Watts, where some people still remember when 103rd Street, which now borders a lively Saturday Farmers Market, was nicknamed “Charcoal Alley” because of the fires that burned buildings to the ground during the Watts Riot of 1965, ReportingonHealth reports:

Many unhealthy conditions persist today that contributed to the powder keg atmosphere in South Los Angeles in the 1960s and again during the Rodney King Riot twenty years ago: high rates of unemployment, poverty and crime. Neighborhood schools continue to battle high dropout rates. Gang violence makes some people reluctant to visit unfamiliar territory — including the Farmers’ Market.

In a neighborhood park on the corner of 103rd and Central Aves., an effort is underway to take steps toward a healthier South L.A.— by providing an affordable and welcoming place to buy fresh produce and to get good advice on nutrition. We took our most recent group of California Endowment Health Journalism Fellows to the Watts Healthy Farmers’ Market to hear from market founders and vendors, who detailed the successes and challenges they’ve encountered since the market opened in July 2007.

Check out a video of the effort here.

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