Press Coverage
Kids Home Alone Should Not Pack on the Pounds
By Jorge E. Bañales – The Office of Minority Health – August 12, 2009
Every day millions of children are home alone because both parents work. In too many cases, parents don't have time or money to go to a grocery store stocked with healthy food and cannot monitor what the kids eat when they are home by themselves. The kids cannot play outside because the neighborhood doesn't have safe playing areas. They sit in front of a computer or television and watch commercials that promote foods with a high calorie and fat content.
View Article (omhrc.gov)
Report Updates Guidelines on How Much Weight Women Should Gain During Pregnancy; Calls on Health Care Providers to Help Women Achieve a Healthy Weight Before and During Pregnancy
National Academies – May 28, 2009
A growing amount of scientific evidence indicates that how much weight women gain during pregnancy and their starting weight at conception can affect their health and that of their babies, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council. The report recommends new pregnancy weight gain guidelines for American women that aim to balance the benefits and risks associated with pregnancy weight change. Noting that entering pregnancy with a normal body mass index (BMI) as well as gaining within the recommended levels during gestation are the best ways to minimize the risks, the report calls for increased diet and exercise counseling and programs to help women attain a normal BMI.
View Article (nationalacademies.org)
UConn Hosts May 19 Conference On Social Determinants Of Health
UConn News – May 13, 2009
Where people live is a major predictor of health outcomes in the U.S. and worldwide.
For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that a child born in a Glasgow, Scotland suburb has a life expectancy 28 years shorter than a child born 8 miles away.
View Article (news.uconn.edu)
UConn Research Identifies Need For Improvements In US Breastfeeding Surveillance And Monitoring
UConn News – May 4, 2009
Researchers with the University of Connecticut’s Center for Eliminating Health Disparities Among Latinos are recommending improvements in breastfeeding monitoring and surveillance at the national and state level, based on a series of recent publications.
View Article (news.uconn.edu)
Hispanic Academics and Senior Latino Leaders From Across the U.S. Will Convene In Texas to Discuss the Role Hispanic Higher Education Will Play in Restoring Our Nation's Vitality
TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/
Just days after President Obama's first speech before joint houses of Congress underscored the urgency for education reform and innovation as a solution to helping restore our country's financial future; many of America's key leaders in Hispanic Higher Education are already being called to action.
View Article (sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com)
Puppet Shows Help Hispanic Health Council Promote Proper Nutrition
By KATHLEEN MEGAN - The Hartford Courant - February 11, 2009
For more than a decade, the Hispanic Health Council, in partnership with the University of Connecticut, has been educating Hartford's young students with an entertaining series of six puppet shows that carry serious messages about nutrition, obesity, exercise, food safety, diabetes and heart disease. Grace Damio, director of the Center for Community Nutrition at the Hispanic Health Council, said it does about 400 puppet shows every year.
View Article (hartfordinfo.com)
USDA and HHS Announce the Appointment of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2008 - United States Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the appointment of 13 nationally recognized experts to serve on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The Committee members are made up of prominent medical and scientific researchers from universities and scientific institutions across America that are leaders in their field.
View Article (usda.gov)
Statewide Health Equity Index initiative launched today by health directors and community organizations
by Press Release – Aug. 7, 2008 – Norwalk Plus
The Connecticut Association of Directors of Health, Inc. (CADH) today announced the $3 million grant it recently received from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support development of the Health Equity Index (HEI), a statewide initiative that will help local health departments promote health equity. The announcement was made during a press conference at Central Connecticut State University’s Center for Public Policy and Social Research.
Many diabetic Latinas lack nutrition knowledge
by Anne Harding - July 6, 2008 - Reuter's Health
One-third of Latin American women with type 2 diabetes living in Connecticut have not seen a registered dietitian or diabetes educator for help with healthy eating, new research indicates.
Speaker highlights disparities in mental health, addiction services
by Sherry Fisher - June 2, 2008 - UConn Advance
Data show “consistently and repeatedly” that Latinos, African Americans, and other minorities do not receive the health care treatment they deserve for mental health and addiction problems, according to Thomas Kirk, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
Researchers examine prenatal nutrition among low-income Latinas
by Elizabeth Omara-Otunnu - February 11, 2008 - UConn Advance
A study of prenatal nutrition among low-income Latinas in Hartford shows that food insecurity, and maternal weight gain during pregnancy that is lower than recommended by the national Institute of Medicine, are both independently linked with low birth weight.
Expert discusses ethnic, racial disparities in incidence of obesity, cancer among women
by Sherry Fisher - May 29, 2007 - UConn Advance
Several of the risk factors for cancer, including a poor diet and obesity, are more prevalent among African-American women and Latinas than among non-Hispanic white women, according to a nationally known cancer expert.
Over 600 Attend 5th Annual New England Regional Minority Health Conference: Presentations Given by Partnership Members and Partners
Connecticut Cancer Partnership
The Partnership and several of its partners presented at the 5th Annual New England Regional Minority Health Conference, "Eliminating Racial & Ethnic Disparities by 2010: Moral & Economic Imperatives," held on April 2-4 at Foxwoods Conference Center. Co-hosted by the Connecticut Department of Public Heath and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the conference attracted more than 600 registered attendees, doubling the attendance from 2005. The conference, held every two years in one of the five New England states, will be hosted by Rhode Island in 2009.
View Article (pdf)
The Journal of Human Lactation
February 2007
“We are fortunate to welcome Dr. Donna Chapman, currently Assistant Professor and the Assistant Director of the Center for Eliminating Health Disparities Among Latinos at the University of Connecticut, as our new associate editor.”
Mansfield Resident Works to Combat Health Disparities
By Sean O'Leary - January 27, 2007 - Willimantic Chronicle
Dr. Margaret Hynes (DPH epidemiologist, CEHDL affiliate and CEHDL’s National Advisory Board member) and her wonderful health disparities work in Connecticut were highlighted in the ALBUM section of the Willimantic Chronicle (Saturday, January 27, 2007, page 3). We have a copy of the article in CEHDL’s main office if anybody wants to see it.
Unhealthy Diagnosis
By Hilary Waldman - December 13, 2006 - The Hartford Courant
Connecticut Latinos are sicker and likely to die younger than members of any other ethnic group in the state, according to a study examining the health of the state's Hispanic population.
View Article (hartfordinfo.com mirror)
Diabetes and Heart Disease: Connecticut Researchers Sound Warning for Women
By Abigail Jeffries - The Healthcare Ledger
Diabetes has become a ubiquitous, frequently undiagnosed and untreated illness that affects adults and, alarmingly, an increasing number of children. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that almost 21 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes—including 9.7 million women—and almost one third of them do not know it.
New Center Aims to Eliminate Health Disparities Among Latinos
By Kim Colavito Markesich - Winter 2005/2006 - CANR Journal
In collaboration with the Hispanic Health Council and Hartford Hospital, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla has been awarded a fiveyear, $8.25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Connecticut Center of Excellence for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos. The center is designated as a NIH EXPORT (Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training) Center.
View Article (pdf)
$8.25 Million Grant Funds Hispanic Health Research and Education Center
December 5, 2005 - Hispanic Business
A federal grant of $8.25 million has been awarded to Rafael Perez-Escamilla, PhD, an associate professor of nutritional sciences and public health at the University of Connecticut, Hartford.
Major NIH grant to fund study of Latino health
By Beth Krane - October 24, 2005 - UConn Advance
The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities recently awarded Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, an associate professor of nutritional sciences, and his collaborators at the Hispanic Health Council and Hartford Hospital an $8.25 million, five-year grant to establish the Connecticut Center of Excellence for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos.
Hartford Hospital to Participate in $8.5 Million Health Initiative
Posted: October 6, 2005 - Hartford Hospital
The NIH Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities has awarded three Connecticut organizations an $8.25 million five-year grant to establish The Connecticut Center of Excellence for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos (CEHDL). The Center is structured as a consortium comprising Hartford Hospital, the University of Connecticut and the Hispanic Health Council. The lead investigator and Director is Dr. Rafael Perez-Escamilla from UConn (Storrs) Nutritional Sciences Department.
