Posts tagged IHPR

SaludToday Wins More Web Health Awards for Raising Awareness of Latino Health

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2 days ago
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web health awardsSpreading the word about how to improve Latino health is a dire need.

That’s why we at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio created our SaludToday blog and social media campaign.

We recently won a trio of Web Health Awards for our digital efforts to raise awareness for Latino health from the Health Information Resource Center, which gives awards twice annually for online health information.

We earned a “silver” award for our SaludToday blog and a “bronze” for our Twitter feed.

We also earned a “merit” award for our quarterly e-newsletter on Latino health.

Please help us spread continue to raise awareness of Latino health issues and solutions by following us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Video: Better Food in Latino Neighborhoods

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6 days ago
by admin in ,

Check out this cool new animated video on how Latino families need healthier food options in their neighborhoods.

The video, which is part of a new Salud America! “Better Food in the Neighborhood” package of research, which also contains a research review, issue brief and infographic, can be found here.

A Latina Cancer Survivor’s Story: ‘I Smile’

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2 weeks ago
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040110Reyes072Editor’s Note: To recognize National Cancer Survivor’s Day on June 2, 2013, SaludToday is telling the stories of Latino survivors through their own words.

By Meg Reyes

I smiled today. I find I’m able to smile more often as time goes by.

What is there to smile about? I was diagnosed with cancer and could have died, but yet I smile. I went bald, but yet I smile. I almost let my coworkers paint a basketball on my head during the Spurs playoffs, and I smile. I watched my hair grow back in its true color, including the gray, and I smile. I think of my family, friends, and co-workers who did not let one day go by without a hug, an e-mail, or a “How are you?” and I smile. I talked to an old friend who didn’t know I had cancer; when she tells me how good I look, I smile. I love my husband and he loves me, and I smile.

I was told I had breast cancer, and I cried. I told my husband, family, friends, and coworkers, and I cried. I had to tell my mother that her youngest child now had the same condition her mother died from, and I cried. I’d look at myself in the mirror with no hair and a scar on my breast, and I cried. I lost my dad to lung cancer a month after I finished my treatments, and I cried. I run the San Antonio Race for the Cure and see the pink shirts and the tribute wall, and I cry. I hear statistics that some Hispanic women don’t get mammograms because they can’t afford it or are scared, and I cry.

I remember lying on the radiation table after my final treatment and being told, “You are done!” and I cried. I remember calling my husband and family and saying, “I am done!” and I smiled.

Prior to my diagnosis, I conducted self exams probably every three months. Now I do them every two weeks on payday. That’s a good reminder. Exams are very important and should not be reserved only for your yearly doctor’s visit.

I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend, but most of all I am a survivor. I’m healthy, I have a job, I have a house, I’m alive…and I smile.

This story is taken from Nuestras Historias: Mujeres Hispanas Sobreviviendo el Cáncer del Seno, a bilingual booklet that tells of the cancer experience through the eyes of real life Latina survivors. The booklet was produced by Redes En Acción, a Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

A Latina Cancer Survivor’s Story: ‘I’m Too Sexy for My Hair’

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2 weeks ago
by admin in ,

040131LaFuente182Editor’s Note: To recognize National Cancer Survivor’s Day on June 2, 2013, SaludToday is telling the stories of Latino survivors through their own words.

By Julie La Fuente Louviere

At 29, I was living in Puerto Rico, and I was in the best shape of my life, training for a triathlon and weighing only 115 pounds of muscle.

I felt like I was in total control.

I found a knot near my collarbone, which I believed was nothing, but my husband made me get it checked out. The diagnosis was breast cancer. I was in shock. I thought cancer was something that only old people got. I learned the ugly side effects of chemotherapy, like losing hair and eyebrows, but I could give them up if I had to. If I had to lose a breast to survive, I was ready.

My motto became “Just do it.” If you want to live, you’ll do what you have to do. This thing called cancer was not going to take me down. I put temporary tattoos on my bald head and wore a T-shirt that my niece gave me that said “I’m Too Sexy for My Hair.”

After my treatment, there was no sign of cancer. More than four years later, I became pregnant again. But the cancer came back, now in my liver and bones. The doctors recommended termination of my pregnancy because they said it would be easier to treat. For me that was not an option. On Valentine’s Day, 1998, I gave birth to my second daughter, Alis Ami. I found out later that the doctors had given me two months to live. In a way, I believe it was my new daughter who saved my life.

I had faith before, but now I have a lot more. My prayers have been answered. I’m not as materialistic, and I’m not always in a rush. When you’ve had a close call like this, all the other stuff doesn’t matter. You know you have it together.

I enjoy each day to the fullest. If I want to stop and smell the flowers, I can. If I want to bake cookies with the girls, I do. Sometimes I get sad about the way I look, but I’m trying to fight for my life, not be a model.

I want to see my rosebuds bloom. I want to see my daughters graduate from college. All I can live with is hope. Tomorrow will be there. Today is today.

This story is taken from Nuestras Historias: Mujeres Hispanas Sobreviviendo el Cáncer del Seno, a bilingual booklet that tells of the cancer experience through the eyes of real life Latina survivors. The booklet was produced by Redes En Acción, a Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

A Latina Cancer Survivor’s Story: ‘My Choice was to Fight’

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3 weeks ago
by admin in ,

DSCF0058Editor’s Note: To recognize National Cancer Survivor’s Day on June 2, 2013, SaludToday is telling the stories of Latino survivors through their own words.

By Joan Treviño Lawhon

I think women are blessed with a sixth sense. Recently, during a show on breast cancer survivors, several said they knew immediately that something was wrong. I could definitely relate.

My basic tests were within normal limits, but I had what I can only describe as a “gut feeling.” I had some very supportive doctors who followed through on my instincts. It took five tests to confirm a malignancy.

Within an hour of my diagnosis, I was at Barnes & Noble buying layman’s books on breast cancer. We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make sure my choice was an informed one. My husband Garey had lost his valiant battle to pancreatic cancer the year before. I lost a brother to kidney cancer. I thought I would face “my cancer” alone.

A cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence, but it does make you face your own mortality. I updated my will, organized important papers, selected the music for my service, and even had my obituary picture taken. My friends still laugh over this. But I also highlighted pages in my new books and made lists of questions for my surgeon.

Along with my research, I turned to a source I had treasured since early childhood—St. Theresa, the Little Flower. Her comforting presence assured me that God had found a meaningful way to remind me of his love. I knew then that I was not alone.

My close-knit family also saw to that. In typical Mexican family style, during my nine-hour mastectomy and breast reconstruction, I had 21 people following me from the admitting area to pre-op, surgical waiting, recovery, and finally to my room. My aunt brought a guest book. With this entourage, people probably wondered if I was somebody important. To my family and friends, I am.

This is my last year of tamoxifen (a hormonal treatment). I choose to see my nightly medication not as a reminder of my cancer but as a means of providing me another day to enjoy life. Now if people see me in a low-cut gown, I love hearing them say, “You don’t look like you had cancer,” because they are right. I had cancer. And I thank God for those beautiful words.

This story is taken from Nuestras Historias: Mujeres Hispanas Sobreviviendo el Cáncer del Seno, a bilingual booklet that tells of the cancer experience through the eyes of real life Latina survivors. The booklet was produced by Redes En Acción, a Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Spanish Report: Summit Tackles Problem of Latino Childhood Obesity

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1 month ago
by admin in ,

Last week in San Antonio, the 4th Annual Salud America! Summit brought together experts from around the country to discuss the latest advancements to reduce and prevent Latino childhood obesity.

Learn more in this Univision video news report by Monica Navarro about Salud America!, a national research network funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The video features Salud America! director Dr. Amelie Ramirez.

Report: Becoming an American Can Be Bad for Your Health

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1 month ago
by admin in , ,
From the New York Times

From the New York Times

A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in the United States, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to a New York Times report.

According to the report:

For Hispanics, now the nation’s largest immigrant group, the foreign-born live about three years longer than their American-born counterparts, several studies have found.

Why does life in the United States — despite its sophisticated health care system and high per capita wages — lead to worse health? New research is showing that the immigrant advantage wears off with the adoption of American behaviors — smoking, drinking, high-calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles.

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Salud America! Latino childhood obesity network based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, was quoted in the report about the problem of Hispanics’ high obesity rates:

“We have a time bomb that’s going to go off. Obesity rates are increasing. Diabetes is exploding. The cultural protection Hispanics had is being eroded.”

Research: Latino Kids Have High Exposure to Unhealthy Snacks at School

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1 month ago
by admin in , , ,

Latina Girl in Snack LineLatino students are widely exposed to high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drinks sold in schools, but implementing stronger nutritional standards can yield healthier school snacks for this growing population at high risk of obesity, according to a new package of research materials released today by Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children.

The new Salud America! “Healthier School Snacks & Latino Kids” research materials, which can be found at www.salud-america.org, include:
• A research review with the latest science;
• An issue brief (lay summary of the review);
• An infographic; and
• An animated video

This is the first of six new research material packages to be released over the summer by Salud America!, each of which will focus on a specific topic on Latino childhood obesity and highlight the issue, policy implications and future research areas.

The “Healthier School Snacks & Latino Kids” package, released at the Salud America! Summit, highlights the fact that young people consume a high proportion of their daily calories at school.

“Research shows that access to unhealthy snack foods and beverages in schools has a disproportionately negative health influence among Latino students, and schools with a higher proportion of Latino students tend to have weaker policies regarding access to and nutritional values of these items,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America!, a national network of stakeholders seeking environmental and policy solutions to Latino obesity based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“By 2050, 35 percent of young people in the U.S. will be Latino. Providing healthier school snacks and drinks can help make sure this growing population is healthy,” Ramirez said.

To learn more, visit www.salud-america.org.

What Are Health Disparities?

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1 month ago
by admin in ,

crowdHealth disparities are differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific U.S. population groups.

Latinos, for example, suffer various disparities in cancer, chronic disease, obesity and other conditions.

To learn more, visit the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

You also can check out the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Disparities & Inequalities Report. The report analyzes recent trends and ongoing variations in health disparities and inequalities.

Steps for Creating Culture of ‘Active Living’ in a Latino City

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2 months ago
by admin in ,
Active Living SA Cover

Check out the new Active Living Plan for a Health San Antonio.

Physical activity is increasingly recognized as a critical way to prevent obesity, chronic disease and other serious health issues.

But nationally, only 1 in 4 adults meet physical activity guidelines.

Even fewer youths do.

A local volunteer group is trying to change that in San Antonio, a Texas city whose residents, most of whom are Latino, don’t engage in enough physical activity.

The Active Living Council of San Antonio, a community coalition formed in 2009 by local health officials using federal grant funds, has created the Active Living Plan for a Healthier San Antonio to identify and implement effective strategies to help people partake in “active living.”

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and his Mayor’s Fitness Council have endorsed the plan, which also has broad support from several community groups.

“We hope local leaders use the plan to build a culture of ‘active living,’ a way of life that integrates physical activity into San Antonio residents’ daily routines, such as walking to the grocery store, biking to work, or exercising,” said Laura Esparza, a member of the council and a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The council spent 18 months collaborating with community, governmental and industry members to create the plan.

The plan shares the vision of the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP): “One day, all Americans will be physically active and they will live, work, and play in environments that facilitate regular physical activity.”

NPAP encourages use of evidence-based strategies to promote active living through policy, environmental and systems changes.

The council is currently reaching out to educate decision-makers, community leaders, and residents about local challenges to active living and how implementing the plan can help increase physical activity.

“We feel like this can help make San Antonio a much healthier place, and contribute to reducing obesity rates,” Esparza said.

Visit the council’s website or Facebook page.

The council is part of the City of San Antonio’s overall fitness effort, called FitCitySA!, as well as part of the Mayor’s Fitness Council, which includes IHPR Director Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez.

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