UNC partners with Mexican Consulate to improve Latino health
| October 13, 2011 | |
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Latinos across the country now have access to a series of Spanish health talks, or charlas, developed by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty members and health care providers, in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate. The talks, made by bilingual medical personnel at UNC Hospitals and originally presented during Binational Health Week on Oct. 6 at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, are now available online. 
Dr. Clare Barrington
Clare Barrington, PhD, assistant professor of health behavior and health education at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, was invited to share her knowledge on HIV/ AIDS. Other public health faculty members also participated in the event. The Oct. 6 presentations were broadcast simultaneously to 50 Mexican consulates across the United States and Canada. The talks focused on health issues that commonly affect the Latino community, including colon cancer, eating disorders, gynecology, burn prevention, renal disorder, asthma, depression, HIV/AIDS and others.
Binational Health Week is one of the largest mobilization efforts of federal and state government agencies, community-based organizations, and volunteers in the Americas to improve the health and well-being of underserved Latino populations living in the United States and Canada.
“This event is very important because it provided Latinos with the opportunity to learn about different health topics that greatly impact their community and that many do not even know exist,” said Claudia Rojas, program manager for the UNC Center for Latino Health. “The charlas clearly discussed different diseases that affect the population, symptoms of these diseases and available treatments, and placed great emphasis on prevention.”
The event was coordinated by the UNC Center for Latino Health, in their efforts to promote health care and disease prevention among members of the Latino community. The Center works to provide specialty and primary care for Spanish-speaking patients, to promote clinical research, and to train health care providers to serve this population.
Because the presentations were created as webinars, Latinos across the country still have the opportunity to access this information. UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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