Posts tagged south texas

Report: A Mostly Latino Area of South Texas is Most Obese Region in United States

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1 month ago
by admin in

pollA predominantly Latino region of South Texas is the most obese area of the United States for the third year in a row.

Residents of the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area have a 38.5% rate of obesity, according to a new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Along with McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas; Reading, Pa.; and Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio, are among the 10 areas with the highest obesity rates for three years in a row.

Nationwide, 26.2% of American adults were obese in 2012, unchanged from 26.1% in 2011.

Residents of the cities with the highest obesity rates receive on average lower annual wages and are less likely to be able to consistently afford food and healthcare than residents of the cities with the lowest obesity rates, according to Gallup-Healthways.

Read more here.

Revamped Website Tackles Latino Health Issues

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7 months ago
by admin in , , ,

You’re invited to check out the new revamped website of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, which investigates the causes of and solutions to the unequal impact of cancer, chronic disease and obesity among Latinos in South Texas and across the nation.

The website now features:

  • Additional areas for news, research and materials
  • Better organization for rapid access to research
  • Seamless video player
  • Social media integration

You can also now sign up to get the latest Latino health news via e-mail.

“Our website aims to raise awareness of our work to improve the health of Latinos, a diverse, culturally rich population that faces a higher burden of certain diseases than other groups,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, IHPR director.

The IHPR, founded in 2006, is headquartered at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio with a satellite office at the Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen, Texas.

The IHPR aims to: conducting research, interventions and outreach projects; training scientists and mentor students; and communicating findings and tools with researchers, academics and the public using, social media, news media, public service announcements, newsletters, educational publications, scientific articles and reports, and more.

The revamped website is another way of reaching the public with vital health information and for reaching researchers, academics and policymakers who might partner with us.

Visit the site and let us know what you think by e-mailing us at ihpr@uthscsa.edu.

Study Uses Promotoras to Increase Physical Activity among Latinas

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8 months ago
by admin in , ,

A Latina gets moving during a group exercise session in South Texas as part of a pilot test of the Enlace study last year.

Latinas are less physically active than Latino men and are less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than other population groups.

This inactivity may lead to obesity and associated conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

To improve Latinas’ health, a new five-year, $3.48 million study will use promotoras—trained community health workers—to lead culturally appropriate group education and exercise sessions for Latinas in community centers in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, says study leader Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) in the School of Medicine of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Participants also will get newsletters and telephone counseling.

The effort, called Enlace (which means to “connect” or “join” in English) and funded by the National Institutes of Health, aims to increase Latinas’ physical activity rates.

“The idea behind Enlace is that, through this promotora intervention, Latinas will gain an otherwise-unavailable layer of social support to overcome barriers to activity and make positive behavioral changes—namely that Latinas engage in 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on five or more days a week,” Dr. Parra-Medina said.

Dr. Parra-Medina and her colleagues had identified several barriers that influence physical activity behaviors among Latinas in South Texas: the dominance of work and family responsibilities, time, social isolation, lack of social support and personal motivation, access issues (e.g., program costs, lack of childcare and transportation), neighborhood safety and other factors.

For the new Enlace study, Dr. Parra-Medina’s team will recruit 704 Latinas ages 18-64 who do not meet federal physical activity guidelines from eight community resource centers in impoverished areas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Half the women will be randomly assigned to the Enlace intervention, which includes 16 once-a-week promotora-led group exercise sessions; and 24 weeks of a maintenance intervention with monthly promotora-delivered newsletters and telephone counseling.

The other half will serve as a control group.

Dr. Parra-Medina’s team will compare the two groups based on minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, physical fitness, wand other factors.

“We hypothesize that Latinas in the intervention group will significantly increase their levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, compared to those in the control group,” Dr. Parra-Medina said.

Read more here.

Latinas Interested in Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer Risk, But Barriers Persist

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9 months ago
by admin in ,
Amelie Ramirez

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez

Latinas tend to have positive attitudes and strong interest in genetic testing for breast cancer risk, yet lacked general knowledge about testing, its risks and benefits, according to a new study led by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

The study, published recently in the journal Community Medicine & Health Education, conducted focus groups with 58 Latinas in Hidalgo County, a largely Latino part of South Texas.

Researchers used analyzed focus group responses and themes and uncovered several cultural factors, such as religious beliefs, that impacted Latinas’ decisions to get genetic testing.

“Key Latino values—religiosity, importance of family and the influential role of health care providers in health decisions—should be considered when designing strategies to deliver culturally adapted risk information to increase and ensure Latinas’ understanding of breast cancer genetic testing during their decision-making processes,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, the study’s corresponding author and director of the IHPR at the Health Science Center.

Genetic testing for breast cancer risk may facilitate better-informed decisions regarding cancer prevention, risk reduction, early detection, and better determination of risk for family members.

However, among women who are tested, less than 4% are Latina.

Finding reasons for Latinas’ low participation was the goal of Dr. Ramirez and her team, which included IHPR researchers Dr. Patricia Chalela and Edgar Muñoz and investigators from the University of North Texas Health Science Center and the University of Texas-Pan American.

The researchers found that none of the focus group participants had ever had a genetic test, and most didn’t know what the test was or how it is done.

Most women, after learning what a genetic test was, indicated they would get a genetic test in the next six months if it were available—at no or low cost—to be able to prevent cancer through healthy lifestyle changes or act as soon as possible to treat disease.

But among some of lesser-educated focus group participants, lack of accurate information about testing and cultural beliefs may hinder their use of genetic testing for breast cancer.

For example, some Latina participants viewed God as the only one who can cure cancer, which might impact their preventive health behaviors. And given Latinos’ tendency to trust the advice of health care providers, some Latinas who lacked health insurance or access to a regular doctor may have fewer opportunities to learn about genetic testing.

“Further research is needed to identify effective ways to communicate genetic risk susceptibility information to Latinas to help them make informed testing decisions,” Ramirez said.

Read more about the study here.

Using Research to Move Policy in Highly Obese South Texas

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Salud America! Pilot Researcher Dr. Nelda Mier documented safety problems and a lack of sidewalks and parks in South Texas. But now her research is poised to impact policy changes that could remedy these built-environment issues.

Salud America! pilot researcher Dr. Nelda Mier documented a lack of sidewalks, street lights and parks along the poverty-stricken Texas-Mexico border—an environment that she found contributes to obesity and sedentary behavior among Latino children.

But this story doesn’t end with just research results.

To change the local environment to make it easier to engage in physical activity, Dr. Mier—armed with lessons from Salud America! on how to promote research-based policy change—brought her project research results to community leader and policy advocate Anne Williams Cass.

The research helped guide advocacy efforts of local organizations dedicated to affordable housing, including Cass’ Proyecto Azteca, which plans to communicate with Texas legislators about the need for sidewalks, street lights and garbage collection along the Mexico-Texas border.

Dr. Mier’s research also prompted changes in the design of an affordable-housing neighborhood, where Proyecto Azteca is working with planners to add trails for hiking and biking, a recreation center and outdoor exercise areas.

“These are things that we more than likely would have neglected in our planning had it not been for the research Dr. Mier shared with us,” Cass said.

This is just one example of how the 20 Salud America! pilot investigators are using their research to stimulate policy changes to reverse Latino childhood obesity. Other Salud America! researchers are using their research to change policies in communities across the country.

Read more about Dr. Mier’s and the other grantees’ achievements in policy change here.

Salud America!, which is dedicated to preventing Latino childhood obesity, is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and is headquartered at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Liver Cancer in Latinos Linked to Diabetes, Obesity

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1 year ago
by admin in , , ,

Liver cancer rates among South Texas Latinos are higher than in other U.S. Latinos, as are their rates of obesity and diabetes—and the relationships between these ailments are being mapped by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

In a study published April 18, 2012, in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers looked at overall liver cancer rates among U.S. Latinos and compared this to a Texas sample and a South Texas subset from 1995-2006.

Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez

They also compared prevalence among Latinos of lifestyle-associated factors that contribute to liver cancer: heavy alcohol use, smoking, obesity and diabetes.

They found that from 1995 to 2006, annual age-adjusted liver cancer incidence increased among all populations – but was highest in South Texas Latinos over the entire period. The increase among South Texas Latinos was also significantly greater than all Texas Latinos, who in turn had significantly higher levels of liver cancer than the U.S. national sample.

While obesity and diabetes increased among all three groups, obesity rates were higher in Texas Latinos and highest in South Texas Latinos. Neither heavy alcohol consumption nor cigarette smoking increased.

“Regarding risk factors, we found remarkably similar and significantly increasing rates of obesity and diabetes in our study groups, with higher obesity prevalence in Texas and particularly South Texas Latinos,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, the study’s lead author and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the Health Science Center.

The study warrants further exploration if there is a relationship between diabetes, obesity and liver cancer so that researchers can look at the problem from the standpoint of prevention, said Ramirez, who also is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the Health Science Center’s School of Medicine and associate director of health disparities at the Health Science Center’s Cancer Therapy & Research Center.

“Both obesity and diabetes are preventable and/or treatable,” she said, “so reducing obesity and diabetes may be an important for lowering Latinos’ risk for liver cancer, too.”

South Texas Study Seeks to Motivate Breast Cancer Survivors to Get Fit

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Dora exerciseDo encouraging, personalized messages, received on a regular basis, inspire women to exercise after they’ve been treated for breast cancer?

To find out, the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is enrolling Hispanic survivors of breast cancer for a 16-week clinical research exercise study conducted in South Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley to address this topic.

Changed thinking that leads to self-confidence leads to changed behavior—that’s the idea behind the study.

The study requires two visits to the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio’s Regional Academic Health Center campus in Harlingen to answer questionnaires, do a complete physical fitness assessment and develop each woman’s individualized comprehensive exercise program. Also, based on the answers, each woman receives a personalized newsletter geared just for her.

“The goal is to motivate the Hispanic women to increase their physical activity, as studies have shown this improves quality of life and reduces the risk of developing other cancers and diseases,” said Gabriela Villanueva, research area specialist associate with the IHPR, who is working on the National Cancer Institute-funded study led by the IHPR’s Dr. Daniel Carlos Hughes. “It’s a really good program for our women.”

Hispanic women 18 and older who completed their cancer treatment at least two months prior are invited to inquire about eligibility. Several Hispanic women have joined the study since it began early this year, but researchers are looking for more.

Study participants will be compensated up to $75 in gift cards for participating.

But perhaps the best part is they get a prescription of exercise that they can carry on long after the study has ended.

For more information, contact Villanueva at (956) 365-8699 or villanuevag@uthscsa.edu.

Innovation in Preventing Latino Cervical Cancer, Obesity & More

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1 year ago
by admin in , , , , ,

Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latina cervical cancer to innovative ways to tackle Latino childhood obesity—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: Preventing Cervical Cancer in South Texas (Pg 1)
  • Story: How an “Exercise Avoider” Became an “Exercise Promoter” (Pg 2)
  • Story: The Importance of Latino Biospecimens (Pg 2)
  • Story: 20 Studies Tackle Latino Childhood Obesity (Pg 3)
  • Story: Who is Promotora of the Year? (Pg 4)
  • Videos: “Feeding Minds” Series Addresses Hunger, Obesity in Texas (Pg 6)

The E-newsletter is jam-packed with even more info on the latest local and national health disparities-related news, resources and events.

View the E-newsletter or visit us at http://ihpr.uthscsa.edu.

The IHPR, led by health disparities research expert Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, investigates the causes and solutions to the unequal impact of cancer and chronic disease among certain populations, including Latinos, in San Antonio, South Texas and the nation. The IHPR, founded in 2006, uses evidence-guided research, training and community outreach to improve the health of those at a disadvantage due to race/ethnicity or social determinants, such as education or income.

Study: Children in South Texas ‘Colonias’ More Likely to be Sedentary, Obese

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

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 19 is Dr. Nelda Mier. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Nelda Mier

Dr. Nelda Mier
“Built Environment Policy for Physical Activity in Mexican-American Children”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Nelda Mier of the Texas A&M Health Science Center investigated Latino children’s perceptions of environmental factors that influence their physical activity, and documented environmental characteristics in colonias in South Texas.

Colonias are unincorporated settlements along the U.S.-Mexico border where many people live in impoverished conditions and lack basic services such as running water.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • Mexican-American children in colonias do not meet physical activity requirements, are very sedentary and are likely to be overweight or obese;
  • the built environment influences physical activity among children in colonias; and
  • nearly all colonias lack sidewalks, pedestrian signage and parks.

Results suggest that children living in predominantly Latino colonias in South Texas are likely to be both sedentary and obese. Colonias tend not to have a built environment conducive to physical activity, resulting in a lack of activity and high rates of sedentary behavior and obesity among Mexican-American children and their families.

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.

Study: Latino Youth Perceive Their Weight Problems; Parents, Grandparents Don’t

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

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 3 is Dr. Cristina Barroso. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Cristina Barroso

Dr. Cristina Barroso
“Body Image and Childhood Obesity in Mexican-Americans”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Cristina Barroso of The University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, examined body image perceptions across three generations of low-income Latinos in South Texas, and studied the association between body image and physical activity in the same population.

For the study, families viewed sketches of body shapes and body sizes and to select images they perceive as healthy, as well as the image that most resembles their own body. Parents and grandparents also select the image that resembles their child/grandchild.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • most youth in this group believe they have a weight problem: that they are either underweight or overweight; and
  • most parents in this group do not believe their children have a weight problem.

This study suggests that Mexican-American youth have very different perceptions of overweight and obesity than their parents and grandparents, indicating that there may be generational differences in perceptions of ideal body size and what is considered overweight.

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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