South Seattle Emerald Reports on Latino Center for Health’s Latest Policy Brief

View the article here: https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/07/18/latinos-face-risks-because-of-lag-in-vaccination-against-covid-19/

Vaccine Equity Initiative Funds Latino Center for Health to Support Vaccination Efforts in WA Latino Communities

A statewide vaccine equity initiative awards the Latino Center for Health $40,000 to support vaccination efforts in Latino/e communities across Washington State. Latinos are lagging behind in getting the COVID-19 vaccine and remain at significant risk of infection as Delta variant spreads within the U.S.

University of Washington, Seattle: All in Washington’s Vaccine Equity Initiative has awarded $40,000 to the Latino Center for Health (LCH) to provide support for the ¡Adiós COVID! project and other vaccination efforts in Latino/e communities across Washington.

Although significant progress has been made in vaccinating the population of Washington State against COVID-19, Latino/e communities throughout the state are lagging behind and remain at significant risk of infection. As of July 1st, 2021, 35% of Latinos in the state are fully vaccinated, 6% are partially vaccinated, and as many as 60% remain unvaccinated. With the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, a more infectious and likely more virulent strain of the COVID-19 virus, it is imperative that community-based efforts like the ¡Adiós COVID! project are funded and supported.

¡Adiós COVID! is an all-volunteer project led by individuals at UW Medicine and UW iSchool focused on helping all eligible Washington Latinos get the COVID-19 vaccine. The ¡Adiós COVID! website, available both in English and in Spanish, is designed to assist Latinos in finding vaccination locations near them and facilitate the scheduling of vaccination appointments. ¡Adiós COVID! also involves partnering with community-based organizations across Washington to bring COVID-19 vaccine mobile clinics to Latino/e communities.

Visit the ¡Adiós COVID! website

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All In Washington was established to mobilize community, business, and philanthropic leaders across the state to address the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable people, workers, and families. The Vaccine Equity Initiative was launched to support equitable distribution of vaccines by streamlining and directing funds to trusted, community-based organizations that can conduct linguistically and culturally-specific vaccine education and outreach to those most impacted, especially in Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. Initiative grants also help fund mobile pop-up and door-to-door vaccine clinics and address transportation, technology and other barriers to vaccination in communities across Washington.

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.

Vaccination Rates Among Washington State Latinos Remain Low as Delta Variant Emerges in the U.S.

A new policy brief from LCH reports that state and county support for community-based organizations is vital to help vulnerable Latino communities who are being left behind in vaccination efforts. Read the policy brief here.

University of Washington, Seattle: Although significant progress has been made in vaccinating the overall population of Washington State against COVID-19, Latino communities remain vulnerable to infection as the majority remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. As part of a COVID-19 policy brief, LCH reports that in Washington State as a whole, only 35 percent of Latinos are fully vaccinated, 6 percent are partially vaccinated, and 60 percent are unvaccinated.

“With the growing threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant in our region, it is imperative that we vaccinate as many Latinos as possible before the fall when schools reopen and cooler temperatures will drive infection rates higher,” said LCH co-Director Leo S. Morales, MD, PhD, who wrote the policy brief.

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.

Hispanics/Latinos have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 infection and deaths nationally and locally. In Washington State, as of June 15th, 2021, nearly one-third (29%) of all COVID-19 cases were among Latinos, even though Latinos only account for 13% of the state’s population. Counties with the largest numbers of unvaccinated Latinos include King (120,226), Yakima (82,916), Peirce (71,379), Snohomish (58,440), and Franklin (40,084) counties.

The attached policy brief urges county and state officials, including elected representatives, to strengthen their support of grassroots, community-based organizations. This support is vital to expand access and overcome hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines among Latinos in Washington.

Support at the state and county level will protect unvaccinated and partially vaccinated Latinos for the fall season when the spread of the Delta variant is expected to intensify.

Read The Full Policy Brief Here

South Park Community Center Vaccination Clinic, May 2021. Photo by Hugo Ludeña.

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Dr. Aisenberg featured in Univision report on COVID-19 & Mental Health among WA Latinos

Latino Center for Health co-director Dr. Gino Aisenberg was featured in this report from Univision Seattle regarding our recently published policy brief on the increased prevalence of depression and anxiety among Latinos during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is part of our COVID-19 policy brief series.

Click here to view Univision’s report.

Click here to learn more about our recently published policy brief, “Depression and Anxiety among Latinos: Urgent Call for Mental Health Services.”

Depression and Anxiety among Latinos: Urgent Call for Mental Health Services

A new survey finds increased prevalence in depression and anxiety among Latinos in Washington State. LCH calls for policymakers to recognize this issue as critical and make short- and long-term changes to improve access to mental healthcare.

University of Washington, Seattle: The prevalence of depression and anxiety among Latinos in WA state increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new survey study conducted by the Latino Center for Health. As part of a COVID-19 policy brief, LCH reports 13% and 16% of respondents scored “depression likely” and “anxiety likely”, respectively. Additionally, 9% of participants’ scores indicate clinically significant comorbidity of anxiety and depression.

This policy brief is part of LCH’s COVID-19 policy brief series. LCH researchers used data from the “Understanding Washington Latinos’ Experiences Around COVID-19” survey developed by the center in partnership with Sea Mar Community Health Centers.

Latinos are disproportionately affected by stressors that negatively impact their mental health. Out of all survey respondents, 39% indicated that they were unemployed, 41% reported that they were uninsured, and 57% reported having completed a high school education or less.

“COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated disparities in anxiety and depression impacting Latinos. WA state must do much more to provide accessible, and culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services for all Latinos in our state, including rural and urban, insured and uninsured, migrant and non-migrant, and immigrant and non-immigrant,” said LCH co-Director Leo S. Morales, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the study.

Overall, scores for “depression likely” and “anxiety likely” were higher among younger (18-30 years old) and older participants (>65 years old), women, divorced, those with higher education, and those with lower incomes.

This policy brief contains a list of recommendations to improve and promote access to culturally and linguistically responsive mental health services to urban and rural Latinos in Washington state. Some short- and long-term recommendations include:

Make temporary waivers for telehealth (telemedicine and telemental health) services permanent.
Increase access to evidence-based, culturally responsive telephone Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) depression care.
Incentivize college and university educational programs across the state to strengthen and enhance their equity curriculum through developing and implementing Latino mental health curriculum and tracks.

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Sea Mar Community Health Centers, founded in 1978, is a community-based organization committed to providing quality, comprehensive health, human, housing, educational and cultural services to diverse communities, specializing in service to Latinos in Washington state.Sea Mar’snetwork of services includes more than 90 medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics in WA state and a wide variety of nutritional, social, and educational services.

Dr. Jimenez participates in WA DOH Spanish panel on COVID-19 and going back to school

The Washington State Department of Health, Univisión Seattle, and the Latino Center for Health (LCH) co-hosted a Spanish-speaking virtual panel on May 13, 2021 about going back to school in times of COVID. Among the panelists was Dr. Nathalia Jimenez, pediatric anesthesiologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Director of LCH.

Dr. Jimenez underscored the importance of taking COVID-19 very seriously, given that, in some cases, children can have serious complications when contracting the virus, and more than 300 children have died of COVID-19 in the United States from a condition called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC).

Dr. Jimenez also clarified that various studies show how schools are a low-risk environment when it comes to COVID-19 infections when adequate safety measures are in place, such as mask usage, washing hands, appropriate ventilation, and social distancing.

This blog post (in Spanish) by the WA Department of Health provides more details about the panel, including important information given by the panelists.

Here is the full recording of the Spanish-speaking panel:

And here is the English voiceover of the recording:

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among WA State Latinos Appears to be Low, Accessibility Remains Concern

A new survey finds 62 percent of Latinos/Hispanics in Washington state are willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine yet remain under-vaccinated. LCH calls for policymakers and public health officials to target communications and accessibility barriers.

University of Washington, Seattle: In a new survey of Sea Mar Community Health Center patients, the Latino Center for Health (LCH) found that most (62%) Latinos/Hispanics believe vaccines are safe and effective at preventing infections and are willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine if available to them, despite having some concerns related to cost, side effects, and effectiveness.

“This data supports that the issue with Latinos not getting the COVID-19 vaccine is not so much due to hesitancy but access. Our policymakers should address these barriers and bring the vaccine to our communities to mitigate the health inequities that Latinos have experienced during the pandemic,” said Dr. Miriana C. Durán, Research Coordinator at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted Latinos nationally, with mortality nearly six times that of non-Latino whites. In Washington state, the COVID-19 infection rate for Latinos is the second-highest in the nation, accounting for more than a third of COVID-19 cases in the state when Latinos are only 13% of the state’s population. Throughout the pandemic, Latinos have had inadequate access to COVID-19 testing and other resources and are once again lagging behind other groups in the state in accessing approved COVID-19 vaccines, despite being overrepresented in the state’s essential workforce. As of 4/7/2021, Latinos make up only 7% of all individuals 16 years of age and older who have received at least one vaccine dose in WA state.

In light of the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on Latinos in WA, inequities in vaccine access, and the willingness of Latinos to take the vaccine, LCH urges community leaders, policymakers, and public health officials to increase the vaccination rate for Latinos in WA by tailoring communication strategies and public education, improving access, and engaging with local community-based organizations.

This policy brief prepared by LCH contains a list of recommendations aimed at reducing vaccine hesitancy and increasing vaccine acceptance and uptake among Latinos in WA state. Some recommendations include:

Engaging local Latino community leaders as effective and trusted advocates to deliver information on COVID-19 vaccines.
Expanding service hours in vaccination clinics, including after-hours and weekends, making appointments accessible to people working in various shifts.
Increasing engagement with Community-Based Organizations as trusted, safe, and familiar spaces, with cultural and linguistic knowledge.

“Latinos in WA want to get the COVID-19 vaccine — let’s be empathetic, meet them where they are, help them overcome the obstacles they face, and give them relevant information in the language they understand best,” said Community Health Worker and UW Public Health Practice student Aida Hidalgo MSc, Ph.D.

LCH created the survey and policy brief in partnership with Sea Mar Community Health Centers. Sea Mar’s network of services includes more than 90 medical, dental, and behavioral health clinics in WA state and a wide variety of nutritional, social, and educational services.

Dr. Morales quoted in recent KUOW article on vaccine inequities among Latinos

Dr. Morales, co-director of the Latino Center for Health, told KUOW that what’s needed to bridge the gap in vaccine inequities among Latinos is to bring the vaccines to where the people are.

“I don’t think the solution is just to open up mass vaccination sites,” he said. “That just doesn’t work.”

Read more about what he and other community members believe DOES work: https://www.kuow.org/stories/as-latinos-wait-for-vaccines-in-seattle-area-they-keep-getting-sick

BRIDGE project funded by UW Population Health Initiative

The UW Population Health Initiative just announced the awarded projects of its 2021 pilot research grant program, one of which was the Bi-directional Research Digital Engagement (BRIDGE) project whose Principal Investigator is Dr. Nathalia Jimenez, Research Director of the Latino Center for Health.

BRIDGE aims to highlight community voices to address current COVID-19 needs and create a sustainable platform for future communication around Latinx health.

You can read more about the project in the abstract below. Congratulations, Nathalia and team!

Project abstract

Responding to the need for sustainable academic-community partnerships to address the burden of COVID-19 in Washington State Latinx communities, we propose developing an innovative bi-cultural, Bi-directional Research Digital Engagement (BRIDGE) Program.

BRIDGE is a new partnership between the Latino Center for Health, the UW Department of Communications’ Center for Communication Difference and Equity (CCDE), UW School of Medicine’s Latinx Health Pathway (LHP) and the Mexican Consulate. BRIDGE aims to highlight community voices to address current COVID-19 needs and create a sustainable platform for future communication around Latinx health.

BRIDGE’s innovative approach leverages infrastructure from the Mexican consulate (Spanish radio programing and Facebook reach 20,000+ followers) and an interdisciplinary network of faculty in LHP, combined with CCDE’s storytelling experience, to create an interactive platform for in-time communication with Latinx communities.

Based on findings from LCH’s collaborative work around COVID-19 with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network and SeaMar Community Health Centers, and input from our community partner, the Mexican Consulate, BRIDGE proposes a stepwise pilot program that captures community needs through personal stories to understand gaps in care, education and outreach related to COVID-19 (e.g., mental health, school needs for Latinx children). It responds to outlined needs with in-time, culturally appropriate educational content (e.g., vaccinations) from bicultural/bilingual faculty and students to be disseminated through the Mexican Consulate’s outreach network.

Pilot data will inform future COVID-19 research efforts and a grant submission on the evaluation of social media as a tool for disseminating culturally appropriate health information to Latinx immigrant communities.

Investigators
Nathalia Jimenez, Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Carmen Gonzalez, Department of Communication
Daniel Cabrera, Department of Medicine
Diana Maria Oliveros, Mexican Consulate in Seattle
Meg Gomez, School of Social Work
Aida Hidalgo, School of Public Health
Mikaela Freundlich Zubiaga, UW Latino Center for Health

Dr. Morales presents at Latino Legislative Day 2021

Latino Legislative Day took place on March 16 this year, with a packed agenda including researchers, community advocates, elected officials, and even a Mariachi performance.

You can watch all the presentations, keynote speakers, and performances, by following this link: https://fb.watch/4idIbLOxfe/

Dr. Morales Slides for Latino Legislative Day 2021:Download