The National Hispana Leadership Institute Partners with American Express Foundation to Launch Program Designed to Develop the Next Generation of Latina Leaders in the Nonprofit Sector

According to a recent National Hispanic Latina Institute release:

Program Designed to Tackle the Scarcity of Leaders of Color in the Nonprofit Sector in the Next Decade, Set to Start, Online Applications and Recruitment Opens in March

…NHLI is launching the ALL IN Program (Advancing Latina Leadership in Nonprofits), targeted to emerging leaders 24-34 years of age. The Program seeks to prepare, promote and sustain the next generation of nonprofit leaders by helping young Latina professionals develop their leadership and management skills, find their voice as effective community leaders, and build their external networks; and by providing access to role models and mentors.

It is estimated that the nonprofit sector will need about 500,000 new senior managers in the next 10-15 years. But the leadership pipeline is seriously lacking for Latinos. Hispanics total about 15% of the US population and are expected to exceed 30% by the year 2050, yet Hispanics account for about 4% of leadership positions in nonprofit organizations.

Full release @ http://bit.ly/dypxZP

“Text4baby”: Mobile health media for expectant mothers

From a White House technology office PR:

By texting BABY to 511411 (or BEBE for Spanish), women receive three free SMS text messages each week timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth. These messages focus on a variety of topics critical to maternal and child health, including birth defects prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health and safe sleep. Text4baby messages also connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.

Text4baby founding partners include National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), Voxiva, CTIA – The Wireless Foundation, Grey healthcare group (a WPP company) and founding corporate sponsor Johnson & Johnson. Premier sponsors include WellPoint, Pfizer and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and wireless carriers are distributing free text messages.

“Text4baby is the first free mobile health service to be taken to scale in the United States,” said U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra. “We know that mobile phones hold tremendous potential to inform and empower individuals,” said Chopra. “Text4baby represents an extraordinary opportunity to expand the way we use our phones, to demonstrate the potential of mobile health technology, and make a real difference for moms and babies across the country.”

“We believe programs like text4baby are critical to providing much-needed information and support to pregnant women and new moms, especially among underserved populations,” said Brian D. Perkins, corporate vice president of corporate affairs for Johnson & Johnson, text4baby’s founding sponsor. “We hope this program not only helps reduce infant mortality rates but also serves as an example of how the private and public sectors can work together to solve problems.”

“Fifty percent of people with chronic health problems in the United States have Internet access, but 90 percent of Americans have mobile phones,” said Lynn O’Connor Vos, CEO of grey healthcare group. “That alone indicates the extraordinary impact mobile technology can have on health outcomes.”

The website for more info is text4baby.org.

JAMA: HPV and Cervical Cancer Treatment Gardasil – Choosing to Ignore the Facts

This is an abbreviated version of an August, 2009 article in PolicyMed.com:

Cervical Cancer is a serious disease and the second leading cause of cancer death in women world wide. In the US it is treatable. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2009, about 11,270 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. Some researchers estimate that non-invasive cervical cancer (carcinoma in situ) is about 4 times more common than invasive cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer occurs most often in Hispanic women; the rate is over twice that in non-Hispanic white women. African-American women develop this cancer about 50% more often than non-Hispanic white women.
But cervical cancer which is caused by a sexually transmitted virus (HPV) is now largely preventable with the vaccine Gardisil developed by Merck.

In this weeks, JAMA there are two articles on Gardisil the first titled: Postlicensure Safety Surveillance for Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine is authored by physicians and researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration that research article points out that Gardisil is safe and effective in preventing HPV.

“We feel confident recommending people get the vaccine; the benefits still outweigh the risks,” “This is the most complete picture we have.” said Dr. Barbara A. Slade, the study’s first author and medical officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But ignoring evidence even from the CDC and the FDA Catherine De Angelis, MD Editor and Chief of JAMA issued another “Special Communications” (special communications is JAMA code for anything the editor wants it to be selected by the editor bypassing traditional channels, lately focused on anti industry articles) this time taking a blow at Gardasil, Merck’s new vaccine against 4 types of human papillomavirus (HPV).

The recent Shelia and David Rothman, PhD (sociologists, not cancer researchers with the Institute of Medicine as a Profession) Special Communication in JAMA published suggests that there are “critical and unresolved questions … [concerning the] manufacturer’s decision to market its HPV vaccine primarily as an anticancer vaccine.” JAMA authors then asked the following:

· Is the vaccine being targeted to adolescents at greatest risk and who stand to benefit?
· Do professional medical associations (PMAs) that received funding from the company provide members with unbiased educational materials and balanced recommendations?
· Did the PMAs ensure that marketing strategies did not compromise clinical recommendations?
· Was the design and implementation of vaccine policy for adolescents consistent with scientific knowledge?

Interestingly, JAMA itself acknowledges that “the new vaccine against 4 types of HPV … appears to be a cost-effective intervention with the potential to enhance both adolescent health and the quality of their adult lives.” So the problem does not appear to be with the science of the medicine, rather “the messages and the methods by which the vaccine was marketed.”

In other words, JAMA believes that the means (the development of an HPV vaccine) used to accomplish the end (Gardisil), are somehow “unethical” because industry was involved. Regardless of the fact that without industry this “cost-effective intervention…that will enhance adolescent health and quality of their adult lives” would not exist, JAMA continued to discredit the manufacturers.

JAMA further claimed that “by making the vaccine’s target disease cervical cancer, the sexual transmission of HPV was minimized, the threat of cervical cancer to adolescents was maximized, and the subpopulations most at risk practically ignored.” Another claim by JAMA is that the vaccine manufacturer which provided educational grants to (PMAs) “did not address the full complexity of the issues surrounding the vaccine and did not provide balanced recommendations on risks and benefits.”

JAMA goes on to further describe that Gardasil was “promoted primarily to “guard” not against HPV viruses or sexually transmitted diseases but against cervical cancer.” The article somehow tries to correlate this promotion with enabling “its manufacturer to circumvent possible parental and public unease with an antidote to sexually transmitted diseases.” The drug was approved by the FDA, and went through all the clinical trials and research necessary, what more do parents need?

Continuing through the article, the authors assert that Merck only concentrated on “populations in geographic areas with excess cervical cancer mortality, including African Americans in the South, Latinos along the Texas-Mexico border, and whites in Appalachia.” According to JAMA, Merck did this so they could market to consumers “that every girl was at equal risk” and that “Your daughter could become 1 less life affected by cervical cancer.”

ASCCP materials also advocate for physicians to help in “convincing states and federal agencies to pay for the vaccine, convincing insurance to pay for it [and] encouraging state mandates for use.” What else more could JAMA want in order to help patients with an effective treatment?

Surprisingly, JAMA did get one thing right in this article: “Professional medical associations are obligated to provide members with evidence-based data so they can present relevant risks and benefits to their patients.” That is exactly what Merck and the CME providers they support have done, and continue to do.

more…

Childhood obesity fed by by food and beverage advertising

The most recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition reports on the role that advertising in television may have on childhood obesity, which is reaching epidemic levels.

According to the report, researchers at the University of California-Davis examined the types of food advertisements seen by children watching English- and Spanish-language American television programs on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons, which are high viewing times for children. Recordings were made of programs on twelve networks including highly rated children’s cable channels Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Kids’ WB, networks that appeal to older youths (MTV, BET), mainstream English-language channels ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and UPN, and Univision and Telemundo, the two highest rated Spanish language channels.

Out of 5,724 commercials recorded, 1,162 were food-related, with 91.2% of food promotions in English, and 8.7% in Spanish. Only 1 commercial was bilingual. Overall, nearly 1 in 5 advertisements was for a food or nutrition-related product, with 5.2 food advertisements presented every hour. Fast-food restaurants, sugary food, chips/crackers, and sugar-added beverages collectively accounted for more than 70% of food commercials; 34% were for ”food on the run,” fast-food restaurants and convenience food.

Children’s networks had the highest percentage of food-related commercials. Food advertisements were predominately for sugary cereals and sweets, high fat food, convenience or fast-food restaurant food, and chips/crackers. When compared to television for a general audience, children’s networks in this study exposed young viewers to 76% more food commercials per hour than did the other networks, with the Saturday morning 7-10 AM time slot being more saturated with food commercials. Approximately 7.7 food commercials per hour appeared in programming on the children’s networks, which is approximately 1 food commercial every 8 minutes

As children move into adolescence and begin to watch more youth programming, such as the music video programming offered by BET and MTV, they continue to be exposed to advertisements for food in less-healthful categories. Eighty percent of MTV food commercials were for fast food restaurants, sugar-added beverages, and sweets.

This is the first study of food advertising in Spanish-language American programming. Although the likelihood of an advertisement being for a food product did not differ between English- and Spanish- language networks, commercials on Spanish-language programming were more likely to be for alcohol and fast-food restaurants, which together account for a majority of the food commercials on these networks. These messages are being presented at a time when Hispanics in America are becoming increasingly obese.

In contrast, fruits, vegetables, and juices were advertised in only 1.7% of the commercials. Only one nutrition-related public service announcement was found for every 63 food ads.

Writing in the article, the authors state, “Study after study has documented the adverse health effects of food advertising targeting children and adolescents. Health educators need to develop and evaluate comprehensive nutrition programs that augment nutritional education with media use reduction strategies to lessen exposure to ads. School- and family-based programs that have attempted to reduce children’s media use have shown promise.

Reduced media use is insufficient by itself, for food advertising has increased in other types of media children use, such as the Internet. Thus efforts should also be made to introduce media literacy training into nutrition programs. Evaluations of nutrition-focused media literacy interventions have been rare. Such literacy training can help children and adolescents understand both the economic motivations behind food advertising and the strategies used by industry to increase desire for their products. Greater awareness of the potential influence of industry may immunize young people from food advertising’s deleterious effects.”

Evaluation of Sweet Temptations, a Fotonovela for Diabetes Education

ABSTRACT:
From Hispanic Health Care International, Volume 7, Number 3, 2009…Fotonovelas represent a popular form of entertainment among Hispanic populations. This study reports the results of an evaluation of a fotonovela for diabetes education among Hispanic adults in Los Angeles. The fotonovela Sweet Temptations was developed by a team of diabetes experts, Hispanic cultural experts, health educators, researchers, writers, and photographers. The fotonovela uses a dramatic story about a Hispanic family to illustrate the symptoms, prevention, and treatment of diabetes. The fotonovela was distributed to 311 Hispanic adults who completed surveys before and after reading the fotonovela. From pretest to posttest, there was a statistically significant increase in diabetes knowledge and intentions to exercise, eat fruits and vegetables, and talk with doctors and family members about diabetes. Results indicate that the fotonovela is a useful and effective medium for diabetes education among Hispanic adults.

CogniFit Says “Hola” to Spanish-Speakers Seeking Brain Fitness

CogniFit™, Inc., the brain fitness leader has entered the Hispanic market with the launch of brain training software in Spanish and a corresponding website: www.cognifit.com/es, announcing this effort during the SharpBrains Summit.

The Spanish website’s content will also include all of the scientific and product information that is currently available on the English website. CogniFit plans to launch French and German websites in 2010 as well.

The software, titled “Cognifit Entrenador Personal” is described (in Spanish) as being the only program that evaluates your abilities in order to tailor a program for you.

This new effort will allow CogniFit to provide the large Latino community in the United States with comprehensive and up-to-date information about brain fitness, as well as brain training software in Spanish targeted at improving cognitive functions crucial to their everyday lives.

“Brain fitness and neuroplasticity are hot topics that will impact healthcare, insurance and longevity for all Americans, no matter their native tongue,” said Alvaro Fernandez of market researcher SharpBrains. “It is heartening to see innovative companies pay attention to the cognitive fitness needs of the growing Latino community.”

Latinos are one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population, and some studies have indicated that Latino people may be more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. A 2008 New York times article covered this in hearbreaking detail.

Brain fitness is thought to build cognitive reserves, which can delay or decrease the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

Hispanic teens have highest rate of pregnancy

The December edition of Pediatrics published a report by the CDC reporting a second year increase of teen birth rates, rising 1% in 2007. Breaking more than a decade of decline, the teen pregnancy rate rose 3% in 2006, this culminated in a 4% rise in teen births and 1% increase in teen abortions.

The previous 15 years had seen a 41% decline in pregnancies in females 15 to 19 – from a peak of 117 per 1,000 to 70 per 1,000. Between 1990 and 2005, there was a 41 percent decline in pregnancies among females aged 15 to 19 — from a peak of 116.9 pregnancies per 1,000 girls to 69.5 per 1,000. During this period births among teen girls decreased 35 percent, and teen abortions declined 56 percent.

The Guttmacher Institute,which focuses on sexual and reproductive health research, public education and policy, reported that this trend has reversed.

Among its findings is that the ratio of pregnancy between Hispanic teen girls and non-Hispanic white teen girls is nearly 3:1!
> Among Hispanic teen girls, the pregnancy rate declined 26 percent (from 169.7 per 1,000 in 1992 to 124.9 in 2005), before increasing to 126.6 per 1,000 in 2006.
> Among non-Hispanic white teen girls, the pregnancy rate decreased 50 percent (from 86.6 per 1,000 in 1990 to 43.3 per 1,000 in 2005), before rising to 44.0 per 1,000 in 2006.

In a news release from the Guttmacher institute, Lawrence Finer, diirector of domestic research said, “It is too soon to tell whether the increase in the teen pregnancy rate between 2005 and 2006 is a short-term fluctuation, a more lasting stabilization or the beginning of a significant new trend, any of which would be of great concern,” … “Either way, it is clearly time to redouble our efforts to make sure our young people have the information, interpersonal skills and health services they need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to become sexually healthy adults.”

HPV: Education is the solution

According to University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Texas is investing $3 billion in cancer research over the next 10 years and six scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are among the first to receive grant.

Dr. María E. Fernández, associate professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at The University of Texas School of Public Health, received over $1.3 million to approach the problem of cervical cancer on an educational level. She is developing materials for parents that promote a vaccine that prevents the major types of HPV.

Hispanic women suffer cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates at almost twice that of non Hispanic white women. In Texas, Hispanic women experience among the highest rates of cervical cancer mortality in the country.

In the Hispanic community there is a cultural resistance to HPV vaccination; the implication that this protection promotes promiscuity has created resistance to the vaccine and is one that calls out for culturally-sensitive media.

The educational materials include a fotonovela (graphic novel) and an interactive video.

Obesity plateau is high in Hispanic women

Americans, at least as a group, may have reached their peak of obesity but the percentages have topped out at very high numbers. Nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent.

African-American adults have the highest obesity rates — 37 percent among men and nearly 50 percent among women. For Hispanic women, the rate is 43 percent. Hispanic and black children have higher rates than non-Hispanic whites.

Dr. William H. Dietz, director of the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the disease control centers. noted that the data probably reflected increased awareness of the obesity problem, especially among women, “who buy food, prepare it and see it, and they’re making changes for themselves that they’re also making for their kids.” He also cited a reduction in “less healthful foods” at school.

Some experts, though, were not optimistic that the leveling off was a result of improved eating and exercise habits.

The numbers, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, are based on national surveys that record heights and weights of a representative sample of Americans. People are considered obese if their body mass index — a ratio of height to weight — is 30 or greater. Someone five and a half feet tall is obese at 186 pounds; a six-foot person is obese at 221 pounds.

Federal health officials had set a goal a decade ago that no more than 15 percent of people would be obese in 2010.

Dr. Dietz said he hoped the obesity data would follow what happened with smoking rates, which leveled off before declining. But he said obesity was difficult to address because while “tobacco is a single source, obesity is both physical activity and diet.”

Experts like Steven Gortmaker, a Harvard public health professor, said obesity would decline only with new policies, like penalties and incentives to promote healthier foods and exercise.

“If you look at the reversal of the smoking epidemic,” Dr. Gortmaker said, “substantial change didn’t really happen until there were bans on advertising and limits on consumption through things like taxation. We have to make some substantial changes.”

Education and targeted information was not mentioned as a possible support mechanism for combating obesity.

AOL: Different Media, Same Story

AOL shocked advertisers and agencies when they revealed that it is not enough to simply translate general market online ads into Spanish but that brands have to create advertising based on the essential nature of the Hispanic reality. And watch out because if you do it wrong you will have angry teeth-gnashing Hispanics cursing the day your brand manager was born.

I’m Hispanic, and I’ve seen some out-of-touch advertising campaigns and I wasn’t angry. Now I would be angry if I was a Hispanic advertising professional and I wanted a cut to whisper in your ear the secret of what would make Hispanic consumer frantic to buy your brand and you didn’t have the money to pay me.

But that’s not what this is about, is it?

Oh, they left this in case anyone is interested: http://advertising.aol.com/