A recent report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation reveals that in the last years the gap between financially stable families and “economically fragile” Latino families is widening. The 2015 Kids Count Data Book, reveals the harsh realities of growing up Hispanic in the United States. Among the most interesting findings: 42% live in single-parent families.
35% — more than any other racial or ethnic group — live in a household headed by someone without a high-school diploma.
63% of 3- and 4-year-olds do not participate in pre-K programs.
More than 80% fail to read at a proficient level in 4th grade.
Nearly 80% fail to score proficient in math in 8th grade. In Texas, where Latinos make up more than 40 percent of the population, Latino children’s reading ...
Apply now by the new deadline, March 22, 2015, for the 2015 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Éxito!, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio (the team behind SaludToday), will select 20 master’s-level students and health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute June 2015, in San Antonio, offering research information, tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying Latino cancer. Master’s-degree students or master’s-trained health professionals are encouraged to apply. Since launching in 2011, Éxito! has had 78 participants. Nearly ...
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. Griselda Rubio
Laredo, Texas Griselda Rubio is the definition of healthy: A vegetarian who is physically fit and taught yoga and kickboxing. Rubio, born and raised in Laredo, Texas, has applied this passion for a healthy lifestyle and a love of learning to a bachelor’s degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in health administration—and works to manage data, coordinate patients and community relations, and help with clinical research. She also believes that “you have to be able and willing to do a little bit of everything even if it means learning a new skill.” That’s why she ...
Texas is "worse" than most states in poverty, health insurance coverage, and income equality, according to a new report. The report, from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, tracked 15 poverty indicators, for which Texas ranked in the bottom half of the country for 11 indicators. For example, 17.5% of Texans had incomes below the poverty line ($23,834 annually for a family of four) in 2013, ranking the state 38th in the nation. Texas also ranked: 50th in the nation for health care coverage among low-income people.
49th in the nation for hunger and food insecurity (meaning that they experienced difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of money or resources during some point of the year).
42nd in the nation for higher education attainment rate.
43rd in the ...
Find the latest advances in Latino health—from cancer survival to solving park access to how to improve mental health—in the IHPR Noticias E-newsletter. IHPR Noticias has lots of info on the latest local and national health disparities-related news, resources and events: Story: Latinas—10 Years after Breast Cancer Survival (Pg. 1)
Profile: Mentees Promote Healthier Lifestyles in San Antonio (Pg. 2)
Story: Latino Researchers among Recipients of $8 Million in Grants to Study Cancer (Pg. 3)
Scholarships: How to Fight Health Disparities in Your Area & Get a Scholarship for It! (Pg. 4)
Story: How to Solve San Antonio’s Low Park Access Score (Pg. 6)
Story: White Students Now a Minority in School; Hispanic Numbers Surge (Pg. 8)
Resources: Tackling Mental Health, ...
1 in 9 American babies are born too soon. Premature birth rates are especially high in U.S. Hispanics (11.3%) and African Americans (16.3%) than in Whites (10.2%), due to issues of stress, health care access, and more. These babies and families struggle with extended NICU stays, ongoing costs and time away from work, and potentially lifelong disabilities. That why the bilingual "Someday Starts Now" campaign is here. The campaign, run in English and Spanish by the Texas Department of State Health Services and coinciding with Prematurity Awareness Month in November, promotes the idea that a healthy, full-term baby begins with healthy, well-informed parents who are active participants in their health care. Here are five tips for women thinking about having a baby to ensure ...
Hispanic immigrant are succeeding in Houston the longer they spend in the United States, according to a new study. The study, by Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, showed that, over time, "Hispanics are assimilating by nearly all measures, from increasing their salaries to graduating more frequently from high school and purchasing more of their own homes," the Houston Chronicle reports. Education has been a key, according to the study. Most Hispanic immigrants in Houston, which has and under-age-20 population that is 50% Hispanics, came to the city without a high-school diploma. But their rates of education, homeownership, and income all improved. These gains extended to the immigrants' second and third generations, although the gains were more slight by ...
A regional health disparities research program has unveiled a new website, membership opportunity, and scholarships under the direction of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. Dr. Ramirez’ program is called GMaP Region 4. It is one of six regional GMaPs (or Transdisciplinary Geographic Management Programs) funded by the National Cancer Institute to bring together local networks of investigators to collaboratively identify and address health disparities in regions across the country. GMaP Region 4 is enhancing local communication, recruitment, and evaluation capacity to support health disparities research, training and outreach in Arizona, New Mexico, ...
What are the best schools for Hispanics to seek higher education? HispanicBusiness ranked the top-40 "Best Schools" based on the number of Hispanic students enrolled, degrees awarded, full-time Hispanic faculty and programs, and more. Of the 40 schools combined, Texas has 12, followed by Florida, with 10, and California, with six. "While these schools are obviously assisted by being in states with a large Hispanic population, they also have top-notch programs that ensure these students stay at home to go to graduate school," HispanicBusiness reports. "Many of them placed very high in the student-services part of our scoring." The ranking includes the top-10 in four school categories: graduate, medical, law, and business. Here are the top schools by category: ...
