Posts Tagged: Latino
Latinos Facing Deeper Retirement Security Crisis Than Other Ethnic Groups
Latinos are facing a deeper retirement crisis than other ethnic groups because of lower access to workplace savings plans and other job-related disadvantages in accumulating nest eggs, reports the National Institute on Retirement Security and UnidosUS in a new study.
“Retirement plan participation rate for Latino workers (30.9 percent) is about 22.1 percentage points lower than participation rate of White workers (53% percent), because Latinos face higher access and eligibility hurdles,” the researchers from NIRS and UnidosUS find. Unidos was formerly known as the National Council of La Raza.
In 2014, 53.7 percent of Latinos 21 to 65 who worked for an employer that sponsored a retirement plan compared to 69.8 percent of all workers.
Even when they are working for an employer with a workplace retirement savings plan, Latinos are hurt because they frequently don't meet the eligibility requirements.
Among Latinos with access to a retirement plan, only 60.3 percent satisfy the eligibility requirements versus 72.9 percent for all workers with access.
At the same time, Latino employees who are in workplace retirement plans have about one-third less savings on average than their White workers.
The study warns Latino women are particularly hard hit economically when they reach age 65.
“Without income from work, Latinas age 65 and older would not be able to afford basic expenses. Older Latinas also face poverty rates three times higher than older White women,” the study says.
Smaller than national average incomes also harm Latinos in preparing for their post-workforce future.
“Workers earning low wages and struggling to make ends meet may very well find it difficult to set aside a portion of their income to save for retirement,” the report warns.
The study points out Latinos typically get a late start in saving for retirement.
The majority of Latinos who have access to a workplace retirement plan don't achieve the benefit until age 45.
By 2060, the number of Latinos 65 and over in the U.S. is expected to reach 21.5 million.
Currently, at 57.5 people, Latinos make up 17.8 percent of the nation's population.
Source: Published originally on forbes.com, Latinos Facing Deeper Retirement Security Crisis Than Other Ethnic Groups, by Ted Knutson, December 3rd, 2018.
Study Suggests Risk of Cancer Death Increases with Each Generation of Latinos Born in the United States
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 2016, the Hispanic population in the United States had grown to 57.5 million, making people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or racial minority group. Studies have shown that U.S.-born Latinos have a higher incidence of cancer than foreign-born Latinos. To better understand the influence that acculturation and environmental factors have on cancer risks in Latinos in the United States, Setiawan et al launched a large observational study examining the cancer mortality patterns across first-generation immigrants and second- and third-generation U.S.-born Mexican Americans.
The study's findings show that the highest cancer death rate occurred among third-generation U.S.-born Latinos, followed by second-generation Latinos with one or both parents born in Mexico. The lowest cancer death rate occurred among first-generation immigrants. The study also found the risk of dying from certain cancers, including lung, colorectal, and liver cancers, was significantly higher among third-generation U.S.-born Latinos compared with first-generation Mexico-born immigrants.
Key Points
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The study was presented at the 11th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved (Abstract C084).
The researchers analyzed data from 29,308 Latinos of Mexican origin participating in the Multiethnic Cohort Study of Diet and Cancer funded by the National Cancer Institute. The participants were between the ages of 45 and 74 years, and they entered the study between 1993 and 1996. Cox models were used to estimate the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for cancer mortality associated with generation, adjusted for risk factors for cancer mortality, at cohort baseline.
Study Results
During an average of 17.7 years, 2,915 cancer deaths were identified. The researchers found that the highest death rate (per 100,000) occurred among third-generation U.S.-born Latinos (age-adjusted rate = 537); followed by second-generation Latinos with one parent born in the United States (526 per 100,000) or both parents born in Mexico (481 per 100,000). The lowest cancer death rate occurred among first-generation immigrants (381 per 100,000).
After adjusting for education, lifestyle factors, and preexisting illnesses, Latino generation was associated with cancer mortality risk (P trend < .0001). The risk for third-generation U.S.-born, second-generation with one parent U.S.-born, and second-generation with both parents Mexico-born was significantly higher compared to first-generation immigrants (RR = 1.37 [95% CI = 1.21–1.54], 1.27 [1.12-1.44], and 1.20 [1.08-1.33], respectively). Restricting analyses to the Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC)-Medicare enrollees, for whom data indicated they are living in the United States and are eligible for national health insurance coverage, yielded similar results.
In specific cancer site analyses, the researchers found associations between generation with lung cancer (P trend = .014), colorectal cancer (P trend = .004), liver cancer (P trend = .006), and possibly breast cancer (P trend = .053). The risks of lung cancer (RR = 1.46 [1.09-1.97]), colorectal cancer (RR = 1.95 [1.28–2.95]), and liver cancer (RR = 1.87 [1.22–2.85]) deaths were significantly higher among third-generation U.S.-born compared to first-generation Mexico-born immigrants.
The risks of prostate, stomach, and pancreatic cancers were similar across generations.
Changing Risk Factors
“The disparities in cancer mortality we observed in U.S. Latinos are likely due to changes in lifestyle, health behaviors, and social factors,” said Veronica Wendy Setiawan, PhD, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and lead author of this study, in a statement. “This study is a reminder that some factors that contribute to cancer risk are modifiable.”
Dr. Setiawan declared no conflicts of interest. Funding for the study was provided by the National Cancer Institute.
The content in this post has not been reviewed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) and does not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of ASCO®.
Source: Published originally on ascopost.com, Study Suggests Risk of Cancer Death Increases with Each Generation of Latinos Born in the United States, by Jo Cavallo, November 5th, 2018.
UnidosUS and UC Davis Examine Strength of the Latino Vote
The Latino vote will play a significant role in upcoming elections as the Latino population is projected to reach almost a quarter of the total U.S. population by 2040, according to research by UnidosUS and the University of California, Davis, California Civic Engagement Project.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the number of Latino voters increased 13 percent over 2012, reaching a record high of nearly 13 million. Latinos are now poised to affect key districts in the midterm elections. However, it will require successful mobilization and investment efforts in order to harness the full strength of the Latino electorate, said the study's author, Mindy Romero, of the California Civic Engagement Project, or CCEP.
The CCEP and UnidosUS will be presenting their latest research at a press briefing, “Latino Tipping Point: How Latinos Are Poised to Impact Key Districts in the Midterm Elections,” Wednesday, June 20, 10 a.m. EDT, at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington DC, 20045. Romero, CCEP founder and director, and Clarissa Martinez de Castro, deputy vice president, UnidosUS, will present the findings.
During the briefing, representatives from UnidosUS and UC Davis will reveal key research findings, including a profile of the Latino voter and predictions of competitive districts where the Latino electorate can have a strong showing at the ballot box. Study findings are based on an analysis of American Community Survey and Catalist voter data.
Strength of the Latino vote
Some highlights from the research on the vote include:
- Latinos currently make up 17.8 percent of the nation's total population at 57.4 million
- 60 percent of the Latino population are under age 35, making Latinos the youngest major ethnic or racial group in the country
- Latino voters still experience electoral underrepresentation and need to be mobilized to not only register to vote but also vote
- The Latino share of the U.S. vote will grow significantly over the next few decades
Source: Published originally on UC Davis News, UnidosUS and UC Davis Examine Strength of the Latino Vote , by Karen Nikos-Rose on June 18, 2018.
Kitchen and Culture Clash When Promoting Healthy Eating to Latinos
Latinos suffer from some of the highest obesity rates in the nation. Health officials have tried to intervene with messaging that encourages healthy eating and healthy behavior, but these campaigns have met with little success.
Now a new study Opens a New Window. from UC Merced public health Opens a New Window. Professor Susana Ramirez suggests that efforts might be more successful if strategies encouraged Latinos to “decolonize their diet.”
Obesity risk among Latinos reflects a broader trend that public health experts have termed the “dietary acculturation paradox.”
“The paradox comes from epidemiological findings over the past 50 years that show that increased acculturation into mainstream U.S. culture is bad for your health,” Ramirez said. “If you look at immigrants born and raised in other countries who came to the U.S. as adults, they tend to be healthier than their American children.”
According to Ramirez, much of the problem stems from children of immigrants adopting American diets. These diets tend to be highly processed and high in unhealthy ingredients like fat, sodium and sugar. They're also low in healthy ingredients like fiber, complex carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables.
This remains true despite gains in income and education, which are generally associated with better health outcomes. But Ramirez's new study provides insight into why the acculturation paradox affects Latinos.
Ramirez and her collaborators surveyed young, bicultural women — ages 18-29; of Mexican descent; living in the Central Valley; fluent in English — about diet and cultural values.
“We started talking to this audience to learn about the factors that influence their decision-making around diet,” Ramirez said. “We also wanted to know what features of health messages are persuasive to this particular audience.”
A number of themes emerged from the data. Ramirez found that participants were proud of their Mexican heritage, which they associated with family time, traditional Mexican cooking and the Spanish language. Though many participants admitted to a limited knowledge of traditional culinary techniques, and only a fraction spoke Spanish fluently, all three aspects of traditional culture were of tremendous personal significance.
“Thinking of themselves as Mexican is a source of pride for these second- and third-generation women,” Ramirez said.
Participants also reported a desire to eat healthy. They listed portion control, balanced meals, and fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy diet; fried foods and foods high in fat and sugar were seen as unhealthy. They were also able to identify specific consequences of unhealthy eating, including obesity and diabetes.
The findings suggested that the prevailing wisdom about healthy diets had reached the group, but those messages weren't having the intended effect.
“Everybody was able to tell us what eating healthy was,” Ramirez said. “But we found that participants were saying ‘when I'm with my Mexican family and I'm expressing my Mexican culture, that is being unhealthy.' Culture is at odds with health.”
Ramirez had identified a second paradox, one that pitted kitchen against culture. Though respondents viewed traditional Mexican cooking as essential to maintaining their ethnic identity, most described Mexican food as inherently unhealthy and incompatible with a healthy diet.
“Healthy-eating promoters often encourage traditional food. But there's a disconnect there,” Ramirez said. “If you're going to tell Latinos to eat their traditional foods, that's priming them to think of unhealthy things. That can cause confusion.”
The solution, according to Ramirez, is a new approach to health communication — an approach that builds on the importance of Latino culture and frames the issue in ways that are relevant to the community.
“Healthy living messages often don't take culture into account,” Ramirez said. “For me, that suggests a pretty radical approach to health communication, an approach that's empowerment based.
“Talk about food and nutrition as rights they can advocate for in their community. Talk about how Latino populations are disproportionately targeted in marketing for junk food and fast food in their communities. It's an approach that empowers young Latinas to decolonize their diet."
Source: Published originally on UC Merced, University news, Kitchen and Culture Clash When Promoting Healthy Eating to Latinos, by Jason Alvarez, March 22nd, 2018.
UCR Identified as National Leader for Latino Student Success
Report comes on the heels of similar findings related to African American graduation rates
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The University of California, Riverside has been listed among ten top-performing colleges nationally for Latino student success according to findings released today in Washington, D.C.
The Education Trust, a non-profit think tank based in Washington D.C., looked at 613 public and private four-year colleges nationwide and singled out ten campuses nationwide as models for promoting Latino student success. Rather than ranking schools strictly on national averages, The Education Trust compared institutions of similar size, SAT scores, and number of Pell Grant recipients and then highlighted those campuses with significantly higher than average graduation rates among Latino students. The findings are published in, “A Look at Latino Student Success: Identifying Top- and Bottom-Performing Institutions.
UCR is widely respected as a national model for student success across ethnic and economic categories. According to the most recent national data, the six-year graduation rate for Latino students in the U.S. is 54 percent. The rate at UCR is nearly 20 percentage points higher at 73 percent.
In addition to performing higher than national averages, UCR is one of few institutions nationwide to have eliminated achievement gaps across ethnic groups and income levels. In 2016, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities honored UCR with the prestigious “Project Degree Completion Award” for innovation in improving student success.
“Being named a top-performing institution is a testament not only to our students but also to the faculty and staff across campus dedicated to helping our students succeed,” said UCR Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox. “The disparities in student success are a national crisis in higher education in the U.S. The Education Trust's analysis is critical in identifying the schools like UCR that are moving the needle on graduation rates so that our successes can be emulated across the country.”
In March, The Education Trust released a similar report covering African American student success. UCR was one of just three schools to be named top-performing institutions in both reports.
Founded in the early 1990s, The Education Trust is a national non-profit advocacy organization that promotes academic achievement for students at all levels of the education system, particularly for students of color and low-income students.
Source: Published originally on ucrtoday.ucr.edu, UCR Identified as National Leader for Latino Student Success, by John Replogle, December 14, 2017.