CDC: Mistreatment During Maternity Care Contributes to Maternal Health Disparities


mistreatment maternity care

Despite the heaviest spending on healthcare, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed nations. Sadly, this historic trend has worsened over time and disproportionately impacts women of color. The reasons for America’s maternal health crisis is multi-faceted, but a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vital Signs survey highlights one potential reason for this worsening health trend – mistreatment of women by healthcare workers during pregnancy and delivery care. Let’s explore the survey results and how mistreatment during maternity care affects Latinas and all women. Mistreatment During Maternity Care for Women of Color The survey, which included data from 2,402 women, found that 1 in 5 women (20%) experienced ...

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Tampon Shortage Sheds Light on Period Poverty


looking at tampon

Amid the baby formula shortage, American women are now facing a tampon shortage. The shortage has resulted in a 10% price increase in the last year, with some retailers price gouging as high as $114 for one box of 18 tampons. The shortage stems from the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a shortage of raw materials and labor. As some women frustratingly scour multiple stores to buy menstrual hygiene products, others fall deeper into period poverty. The High Cost of Menstruating While menstruating women nationwide are affected by this shortage, low-income women, such as Latinas, are hit particularly hard as they already face disproportionate health inequities, including a lack of access to healthy food, affordable housing, and childcare. Nearly 22 ...

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Study: Breast Cancer Can Be More Fatal to Certain Latinas


Latina church praying

For Latinas of Mexican or Puerto Rican decent, breast cancer is more likely to be fatal than for other U.S. Latinas, according to a new study from the Avon Foundation for Women, USA Today reports. The research is the first of its kind on Latino subgroups. It showed that breast cancer mortality rates differed for Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Central and South American women with breast cancer in the United States. The findings have implications for how Latinas receive care and treatment. “A critical first step to improving breast cancer prevention, diagnosis and care for Hispanic women is understanding where the greatest needs are,” said Cheryl Heinonen, Avon Foundation president to USA Today. “The more we know, the better we will be at improving care, quality of life and ...

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Why Some Latinas Are ‘Going Vegan’



Several Latinas are praising the health virtues of "going vegan" after formerly eating meat, according to a recent Miami Herald column. These include Carolina Quijada, vegan chef of LovinGreens, Jeanette Ruiz, who conducts the Planted in Miami podcast, and Desiree Rodriguez, a ricanvegan.com blogger. Although a plant-based diet is a break from typical Latino tradition, the column indicates that these Latinas chose that lifestyle to boost fitness, overcome sickness and hypoglycemia, and prevent cancer and heart disease. “I wish there was more awareness for [Latinos]," Rodriguez told Miami Herald columnist, Ellen Kanner, a vegan herself. "A lot have the same diseases my family has. It’s so common—I hear them comparing medications. I feel like going vegan is a simple ...

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Study: Latinas with Breast Cancer Are Less Involved in Choosing Care Providers



Latina and black women are less likely than white women to pick their surgeon and hospital for treatment based on reputation, according to a new, Medical Express reports. Instead, they rely more on physician referrals and health plans for those decisions. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, suggests less-active involvement of minority patients with regard to selecting physicians and hospitals for their care. "Most women relied on referrals from their physicians for selecting surgeons, particularly black women and Spanish-speaking Hispanic women. In addition, minority patients were less likely to report reputation as an important component of their decisions about surgeons and hospitals and were more likely to select a hospital because it was part of their health plan," according to ...

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Webinar 3/10/15: Key Decisions Await Latinas after a Breast Cancer Diagnosis



You're invited to a Redes En Acción webinar at 11 a.m. CST Tuesday (3/10/15) to explore racial/ethnic differences in treatment decision-making among women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. Having DCIS can increase risk of developing more invasive, life-threatening breast cancer. The webinar will describe findings from a study that compares Latinas and non-Latina White women with DCIS and their trajectories from treatment decisions to follow-up, including satisfaction with their decisions and quality of life after diagnosis and treatment. The webinar will feature study investigator Dr. Celia Kaplan (pictured), a Redes investigator and professor in residence in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San ...

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Beatriz Sosa Prado: An Èxito! Grad Overcomes Immigration Challenges to Advocate for New Immigrants and Their Health



Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Beatriz Sosa Prado Los Angeles, Calif. Born in Mexico City, Beatriz Sosa Prado later immigrated with her family to Los Angeles. Influenced by the many challenges that immigrants encounter once they come to the United States, Sosa Prado pursued educational degrees with aims of being an advocate for them. Indeed, with the support of her family and husband, Sosa Prado earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Irvine, and a master’s degree in health science from California State University, Long Beach. She went on to become a bilingual nutritionist who helps Latina mothers in Los Angeles. Now ...

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Webinar 1/20/15: Managing Stress among Latina Cancer Survivors



You're invited to a webinar to explore stress and quality of life among Latina breast cancer survivors. The webinar, set for 11 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, will describe the development and testing of Nuevo Amanecer, a cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) intervention developed specifically for Spanish-speaking Latinas with breast cancer to improve their quality of life. The project translated an evidence-based CBSM program by integrating it with formative work and community best practices. The webinar will be conducted by Redes En Acción, a national Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. The webinar ...

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Latina Survivors Savor a Decade of Living in Technicolor



In 2004, 26 Latina breast cancer survivors from South Texas shared their stories to inspire hope, comfort, and resiliency in a bilingual booklet called Nuestras Historias. Today, many of the survivors have new, heart-warming stories to tell about how Latinas can survive cancer and thrive in the workplace, school, home, and family on the 10th anniversary of the booklet, which was produced by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and her Redes En Acción Latino cancer research network funded by the National Cancer Institute. They vivacious survivors have been living in "technicolor," you might say. Indeed, check out a new story, "Latina Survivors Savor a Decade of Living in Technicolor," on Pages 12-15 of the UT Health Science Center's Mission ...

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