Category: News

Project BRIDGE

New Latine Storytelling Group Launches COVID-19 Interview Series

Learn More About Project BRIDGE

Project BRIDGE is a new Seattle-based digital storytelling group formed by a team of Latine professionals dedicated to sharing under-told stories to advocate for our community’s health and research needs. This study was supported in part by funding from the Latino Center for Health.

Over the past year, Project BRIDGE interviewed six Latinas from around Washington state on their experiences as advocates, artists, researchers, mothers, and women dedicated to fighting for their communities on topics related to collaboration, decolonization, health care, migration, and navigating the pandemic.

Part I of BRIDGE’s three-part COVID-19 Interview Series highlights two advocates for undocumented detainees: Maru Mora Villalpando, Immigrant Community Organizer with La Resistencia, and Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, researcher, professor, and Director at the UW Center for Human Rights. In Part I: Advocating for Undocumented Detainees,  they discuss the relationship between community and academia and the barriers and facilitators of their work.

Watch the video below to hear Maru’s experiences advocating for her community of undocumented detainees and navigating barriers amplified by COVID-19: “The conditions in prisons don’t make you healthy; actually, they do the opposite.” — Maru Mora Villalpando

Part I – Episode I: Maru Mora Villalpando, La Resistencia Advocate + Immigrant Community Organizer

Click here to watch Episodes II + III where you’ll hear more from Maru and meet Angelina Snodgrass Godoy’s experiences as a human rights researcher.

The pandemic brought to light deep inequities in our systems. As we respond to the health needs in the Latine community, we hope our partners’ stories inform, expand, and inspire growth for advocates, researchers, and allies.

Visit the website by clicking here to learn more about our work and watch the rest of the COVID-19 Interview Series Project BRIDGE.

Project BRIDGE is a collaboration between the University of Washington, the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle, and community partners dedicated to advancing Latines in WA and beyond. BRIDGE is funded by the Population Health Initiative, Department of Communications, and Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington. 

Please contact Nathalia Jimenez for all queries at njimen@uw.edu

New childcare, teaching responsibilities during COVID-19 pandemic widening educational gaps for Latino families

A new brief from LCH highlights disparities accentuated during the pandemic, including access to digital resources, as families experienced income reduction and transitioned to digital online homeschooling.

Read the brief here

University of Washington, Seattle: As part of a COVID-19 policy brief the Latino Center for Health reports that the disruption of education during the pandemic posed challenges for Latino parents and students in Washington state as they managed language, educational, and technology barriers.

Access to digital resources posed challenges for Latino parents and students during the shift to remote learning as families experienced job loss and income reduction. As part of LCH’s COVID-19 survey study, 34 percent of the respondents reported new childcare and/or homeschooling responsibilities. Half reported having access to a computer or a tablet for their children to attend school online.

“The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are yet to be determined. For Latino children and adolescents in particular, the pandemic exacerbated existing educational gaps that will have long-lasting effects on their academic advancement,” said brief co-author Nathalia Jimenez; MD, MPH. “Our survey shows the limitations that Latino families experienced when schools moved to remote, online learning including limited access to high-speed internet and digital technology. The loss of school support systems also added to the stress of parents who are primarily Spanish speaking and who are unfamiliar with the U.S. school system.”

Latinos account for 13 percent of the state’s population, and one in five children in Washington state is Latino. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Latino students in Washington already had lower access to digital tools and high-speed internet at home than other racial/ethnic groups. To close educational gaps for this vulnerable group, LCH policy recommendations include:

● Closing the digital divide by ensuring household access to high-speed internet service and providing updated computers and tablets to all students.

● Addressing the cultural and linguistic needs by using a family and community engagement framework and providing tutoring and other support systems for mono-lingual and bilingual Latino students and families.

● Tracking the educational achievement of Latino students to measure the compounding impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance, identify needs and provide resources.

This policy brief is part of LCH’s COVID-19 policy brief series. LCH researchers used data from the 2019 Census QuickFacts website and the WA State Department of Health COVID-19 Dashboard.

Read the brief here

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The Latino Center for Health is committed to advancing the field of Latino health through building capacity to support culturally responsive research and shaping the next generation of leaders equipped to respond to current and emerging health issues facing diverse Latino communities in the state and region. Through prioritizing community-academic partnerships, professional training and mentorship, and innovative research approaches, the Latino Center for Health positions itself as a critical resource to inform policy development and effective practices promoting health in urban and rural settings across Washington state.

Latinx Leaders Across WA Call for Culturally Responsive Policies for COVID-19 Recovery

Latinx leaders from across the state share stories of loss and resilience while identifying new paths to recovery for their local communities.

University of Washington, Seattle: As the Latinx community continues to face disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders from across Washington state are calling for culturally responsive policies and resources to promote health equity for urban and rural Latinx communities statewide.

As of December 14, 2021, Latinos in Washington state account for 22% of COVID-19 cases while only 13% of the state’s population, and more than three times the mortality rate compared with non-Hispanic whites on an age-adjusted basis.

As part of a virtual symposium hosted by the Latino Center for Health in October, community leaders gained a collective understanding of the ongoing needs and shared stories of resilience in our community. Discussions centered around four topics significant to our Latinx communities in pandemic times:

  • COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing
  • Return-to-School
  • Mutual Aid

LCH published four policy briefs highlighting the symposium’s main takeaways—along with key policy recommendations that aim to inform COVID recovery resource allocation and policymaking necessary to promote health equity for Latinx communities in Washington. Key policy recommendations include:

  • Increase multicultural and multilingual state programming and proactive information distribution (including emergency preparedness and response programming).
  • Increase the number of multicultural, multilingual WA therapists, psychologists, and other mental health practitioners and support the provision of telemental health services.
  • Mandate paid sick days for all employees (regardless of documentation status) needing time off for vaccinations and post-vaccination side-effects for themselves and their dependents.
  • Develop and implement culturally responsive, trauma-informed training for all educators and school staff at publicly funded schools.
  • Increase funding for community health worker initiatives in Latinx communities. Funding should go directly to community-based organizations that currently train and coordinate community health workers

“It’s important to invest in the people and grassroots organizations that have been on the ground for years,” said Marisol Lister, symposium panelist and Development and Communications Coordinator at Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN). “We know this is not going to be the last crisis that our communities will face.”

To learn more about Latinos’ experiences surrounding COVID-19 in WA state and additional recommendations for promoting health equity, visit our COVID-19 policy brief series page. 

COVID-19 Pandemic Intensifies Economic Disparities Among Latinos, Latinas in WA State

The new brief from LCH shows that Latino men and women are experiencing disproportionate economic hardships, with Latina women facing higher unemployment rates and caretaking responsibilities.

University of Washington, Seattle: As part of a COVID-19 policy brief, the Latino Center for Health reports that many Washington state Latinos are not able to meet their basic needs, including healthcare, food and housing security.

For Latinas (Hispanic women), the unemployment rate has risen more quickly than that of Latinos (Hispanic men) throughout the pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, Latinas left the workforce at twice the rate of Latinos. Eight months later, this disparity doubled. In addition, compared to other women in the workforce, Latinas left jobs at a rate three times higher than white women and four times higher than Black women.

“Latinas are facing a disproportionate economic impact from the pandemic,” said Research Coordinator Miriana C Duran, MD, MPH. “In addition to experiencing high unemployment rates, having new childcare responsibilities at home due to school closures has forced them to leave the workforce at an alarming rate. Latinas need policies that support an equitable and inclusive post-pandemic recovery.”

As essential workers, many Latinos and Latinas have experienced significantly higher job loss, decreased work hours, and work-related income as compared with whites. According to the LCH survey study, 60 percent of all participants reported their household income was reduced due to the pandemic and 44 percent of the participants reported not being able to meet their basic needs.

“Latinos have suffered from losses and poor health due to COVID-19,” said Co-Author Aida Hidalgo-Arroyo, PhD. “They have faced dire personal and financial struggles despite their essential role in keeping the country and the economy moving…it is about time we support them back.”

LCH policy recommendations include:

  • Expanding the federal unemployment benefits through Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Emergency Paid Leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave.
  • Increasing the minimum wage and eliminating tipped minimum wage.
  • Increasing relief funding for childcare.
  • Enhancing worker rights and protections such as safety protocols for essential workers.
  • Providing support to undocumented Latino and Latina immigrants.

This policy brief is part of LCH’s COVID-19 policy brief series. LCH researchers used data from the 2019 Census QuickFacts website and the WA State Department of Health COVID-19 Dashboard.

Other recommendations for increasing vaccine uptake among Latinos can be found in our recent policy briefs on vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 information sources.

COVID-19 Vaccination Rates among Washington State’s Latinos are Improving, but Challenges Remain

A new policy brief from LCH reports that, although Washington state has made significant progress towards vaccinating Latinos against COVID-19, some urban and rural Latinx communities are lagging behind and remain at significant risk of COVID-19 infections.

University of Washington, Seattle: As part of a newly released COVID-19 policy brief, the Latino Center for Health reports that overall in Washington state, the rate of fully vaccinated individuals among Latinos twelve years of age and older was 54.6% as of September 29, 2021, up from 40.5% in July (2021), representing a 33.4% increase in the number of vaccinated Latinos.

“The greatest risk we face now is to be complacent about the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot rest until we have reached all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated Latinos in our state,” said LCH co-Director Leo S. Morales, MD, PhD, who wrote the policy brief. 

Although progress has been made since July, this is a critical moment to reexamine vaccination rates among Latinos, with approximately 341,808 of the estimated 752,802 Latinos twelve years of age and older in our state remaining partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. Approval of COVID-19 vaccines for 5–11 year-olds will result in 156,577 additional Latinx children in the state becoming eligible to for vaccination.

This policy brief urges our state’s elected leadership to continue their support of community-based organizations and trusted community leaders who use culturally and linguistically tailored approaches to increase access and overcome hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines in Latinx communities.

Other recommendations for increasing vaccine uptake among Latinos can be found in our recent policy briefs on vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 information sources.

This policy brief is part of LCH’s COVID-19 policy brief series. LCH researchers used data from the 2019 Census QuickFacts website and the WA State Department of Health COVID-19 Dashboard.

Download the policy brief here:

LatinxVaccinationRatesOctober2021Download

Survey finds Latinos trust TV, social media, & CBOs for COVID-19 information

A survey conducted by the Latino Center for Health in partnership with Sea Mar Community Health Centers has found that television, social media, and community-based organizations are important sources that Latinos in Washington use and trust for getting their COVID-19-related information.

See the latest in our COVID-19 policy brief series: Examining Trusted Sources of COVID-19 Information among Latinos.

Strengthening communication strategies can have lasting effects on the Latino community’s health and be applied to future health initiatives to combat misinformation and help Latinos make informed choices. LCH calls for institutions, including local health jurisdictions, healthcare providers, and hospitals, to create communications related to COVID-19 prevention and treatment that:

Use communication strategies that prioritize the diverse media habits of Latino audiences.

Tailor messaging for age and language groups within the Latino community.

Strengthen partnerships with trusted CBOs to deepen their reach and relationship with the Latino communities.

Prioritize targeted communications for social media, TV, and community-based organizations.

Healthcare providers are a primary trusted source of information for Spanish and English-speaking Latinos and should consider using culturally tailored communication strategies in English and Spanish when communicating with their Latino patients.

For more recommendations and information about the survey, click here.

LCH welcomes Antoinette Angulo as inaugural Policy Director

After nearly three years of leadership as the Community Partnership Specialist at the Latino Center for Health, Antoinette Angulo has been named the Center’s inaugural Policy Director effective September 1, 2021. Antoinette, a Chicana from Los Angeles, is an experienced public health practitioner and highly respected activist in Seattle, WA. She earned her MPH from the University of Washington and studied health policy at UC Berkeley.

Antoinette has over 20 years of experience working with Latinx populations in the U.S. and in Latin America in clinical, research, and community health settings. She is experienced in partnering with stakeholders such as impacted community members, promotores, restaurant and hospitality workers, and healthcare workers to co-produce credible data to inform policymakers and advance health policy at the community, state, and national levels. Most recently, she led the Increasing the Latinx Physician Workforce NOW project for LCH, which culminated in the passing of Senate Bill 5228 and House Bill 1129 in the 2021 WA state legislative session.

As the inaugural Policy Director for the Latino Center for Health, Antoinette is pleased to lead the Center’s efforts in bridging evidence with policymaking to promote the health and well-being of Latinx communities in WA state.

The Seattle Times features Dr. Morales in recent article on the risk of COVID-19 delta variant

Read the article in English here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/as-the-delta-variant-grips-washington-state-latino-population-faces-steep-covid-risk/

Lea el artículo en español aquí: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/a-medida-que-la-variante-delta-se-propaga-en-el-estado-de-washington-la-poblacion-latina-enfrenta-un-alto-riesgo-de-covid/