Hispanic Media Story Ideas

Traveling "Home"? Here's What You Need to Know

If you're planning a trip home to see family and friends, you might not think about health precautions or issues – after all, you're visiting a familiar place. However, there are health issues immigrants to the United States who are planning trips "home" should know about. Find out more on CDC's Travel Health Website, and check out the new 2010 Yellow Book, a guide to safe and healthy travel.

• VFRs: Immigrants Returning Home to Visit Friends and Relatives
• Yellow Book

Latino Teens Happier, Healthier if Families Embrace Biculturalism

Did you know that adolescents with parents of a different culture can be at a greater risk for health problems and risky behavior?  The good news is that there are steps your readers can take to reduce these risks.  A study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, shows that Latino adolescents in the U.S. who maintain ties to their culture of origin are more likely to develop healthy behaviors than their peers who do not.  Latino adolescents who have a strong awareness of their family's culture reported higher self esteem, fewer social problems and less hopelessness, aggression and substance abuse.  Find out more using the links below:

• CDC Feature:  Adolescentes latinos más felices y saludables
• Formatted Article: Los adolescentes latinos son más felices y saludables si sus familias adoptan el biculturalismo (Latino teens happier, healthier if families embrace biculturalism)
• UNC study: Latino teens happier, healthier if families embrace biculturalism

Healthy Pregnancy

Your readers who are pregnant, or are planning to become pregnant, probably have a lot of questions. They may be concerned about novel H1N1 flu and other health issues. It's important to know how to stay safe and healthy before, during, and after pregnancy – luckily there are many pages in English and Spanish on the CDC website to help your readers know how to give their babies a healthy start of life.

CDC Resources

• Influenza H1N1: Recursos para mujeres embarazadas (What pregnant women should know about H1N1 virus)
• Embarazo – Recursos principales
• Embarazo Saludable

Formatted Articles:

• Por qué el alcohol y el embarazo no se deben mezclar (Why Alcohol and Pregnancy Don't Mix)
• Los bebés hispanos tienen mayor riesgo de presentar defectos congénitos cerebrales y espinales: las madres que toman ácido fólico pueden reducir ese riesgo (Hispanic Babies are at Higher Risk of Brain and Spine Birth Defects: Mothers Who Take Folic Acid can Reduce that Risk)

Campaign Helps Hispanics Enjoy Healthy, Traditional Food

Compared to whites, Hispanics are disproportionately affected by diabetes. More than 10 percent of Hispanics aged 20 years and older have diagnosed diabetes. Among Hispanics, rates of diabetes are 8.2 percent for Cubans, 11.9 percent for Mexican-Americans, and 12.6 percent for Puerto Ricans. New tools are available to help Hispanics enjoy healthy versions of their favorite recipes and control portion sizes, all designed to reduce their risk of developing diabetes. The recipes and other materials are part of a campaign called Más que comida, es vida, which means "It's more than food. It's life."

Different Cultures, Different Health Issues

Though they share many aspects of a common heritage, Hispanic cultures vary significantly by country of origin – and these differences extend into health issues. For example, Puerto Ricans suffer disproportionately from asthma, HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality, while Mexican Americans suffer disproportionately from diabetes. Language and cultural barriers, lack of access to preventative care, and lack of health insurance are some of the common challenges Hispanics face. To learn more about different health issues facing Hispanics, click here

Health Insurance Coverage Rates Lower Among Hispanics

The rate of insurance coverage among Hispanics is lower than the rate for the U.S. population as a whole. According to recently-released CDC data, 29.4% of Hispanic persons were uninsured in 2007.

Hispanics in Public Health

CDC's Hispanic employees play pivotal roles in protecting global public health. They come from across the U.S. and Latin America to work as doctors, epidemiologists, microbiologists, computer experts, program managers and administrators. Here are just a few stories of CDC's Hispanic employees working at the forefront of global health.

• Nelson Arboleda, MD, MPH, a native Colombian, enjoys his job, especially "being able to work daily on assessing and responding to vaccine-related adverse events to ensure that the benefits of vaccines continue to be far greater than the risks; as well as leading the preparedness and response efforts to monitor vaccine safety during emergencies and mass vaccination campaigns (i.e., an influenza pandemic)." While working with children suffering from landmine injuries in Colombia, he made a commitment to work on treating the children who were unfortunate victims of war and had received their injuries from bombs which, at times, were disguised as common items such as soccer balls, radios, and teddy bears. He went to New Orleans during the response to Hurricane Katrina to work on hospital-based disease surveillance, and has worked in India to prevent polio.

• Ruth Perou has been at CDC 15 years. She is Child Development Team Leader, Division of Human Development and Disability, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. "I am a developmental psychologist by training and wanted to work in a field that could result in a positive impact on children's lives," says Perou. She was born in Guantanamo, Cuba, and moved to the U.S. when she was four. One of her most important project is the Legacy for Children™ study, which works on parenting interventions with low-income families.

CDC Abroad

In today's world of increasing globalization, the United States continually faces new challenges and opportunities in public health. In partnership with other parts of the US government, public health officials throughout the world, and host countries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works to protect and promote global health in many areas, including many countries in Latin America and the Carribean.

• CDC has several offices in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • Dengue Branch - CDC's Dengue Branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is responsible for national and international surveillance of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever.
  • San Juan Quarantine Station - CDC's San Juan Quarantine Station responds to reports of illness or death on airplanes and maritime vessels (cruise and cargo) at all ports in Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John).
• Global Disease Detection in Guatemala - To make early detection and containment a reality around the world, CDC is developing a network of Global Disease Detection (GDD) Centers in partnership with Ministries of Health.