Are you looking for good health information?

Few days ago, I was having a conversation with a colleague about how Hispanics look online for health information. Of course this was very fruitful conversation, so I would like to share somewhat I found interesting. Even though the Pew Hispanic Center reported in 2010 that Hispanics are less than Whites and a little bit behind of African Americans to access the Internet, Hispanics are learning to use computers as much as are getting into other latest tech devices like smart cellphones, tablets, etc. It is possible that the number of Hispanics accessing the internet is growing now and it seems that there is a trend that Hispanics are more interested in navigating websites to get useful information for their everyday lives. If someone has a health problem, taking a look at websites could help a lot because it is supposed you will find your answers unless you get wrong or very limited information. Here it is my point. Are you always getting good health information when you visit websites? Probably you would say yes if you are browsing in English only. However, Spanish speaker rarely can find the right or good information because there is limited health information in Spanish from most of reliable websites created in the US.
I have good news for Hispanics who are browsing on websites for health information; the US Department of Health and Human Services has a very useful website that has also a Spanish version. You can google it: www.healthfinder.gov and that is all. You can navigate this website not only for general information on health but also to look for resources and advice. For example I found a small box where you can put your age and your sex, then click on a button and you start receiving a lot of specific information on your health care according to your age and sex, which is very important.
Try it. I am sure you are going to like this website.

SOL Ancillary Study Finalizes: a conversation with Elena Navas-Nacher

The SOL study has several important ancillary studies that seek to go deeper or expand the knowledge in many areas of the Hispanic health. Recently, we had the opportunity to talk to Elena Navas-Nacher, who is a pre-doctoral fellow at the Department Preventive Medicine of Northwestern University. She actually is finishing her work as Chicago coordinator for a diversity supplement grant that is part of the SOL study, which evaluates the psychometric properties of SOL instruments.

Elena stated the importance of this ancillary study, “We want to make sure these psychometric instruments are valid for Hispanic population because originally were developed for Caucasian populations, so we should know if they are culturally appropriate for our Hispanic communities.” The development of appropriate instruments is very important in research and the contribution of this ancillary study aims to fill a gap in this area.

The SOL study plays a key role because tries to restore the fact of limited information regarding health for diverse Hispanic communities in different parts of the country. Besides that, imminent potential benefits of SOL study would be coming in the short run as Elena said, “The SOL study will help our communities in improving their health when we can see what should be done in terms of program development, health education, and so on.”

Elena’s goal was to interview 100 SOL participants in Chicago. Other fellow researchers, Patricia Gonzales (San Diego) and Orit Weitzman (Miami) also completed interviews for a total of 350 SOL participants. After success in recruitment and enrollment of participants in this national SOL ancillary study, Elena is busy entering and analyzing data as previous steps to publish the study results that hopefully will come out very soon.

When we asked Elena about her thoughts on the SOL participants, she expressed her gratitude to all of them. “We really appreciate their involvement, care and interest in improving our community’s health, our future as Hispanics. So, I want to say thank you,” she said. Finally, she encouraged SOL participants to stay in touch with us because the SOL study has not finished yet; she stressed that participant’s health status should be followed over time, “There are many ways to stay in touch with our study such as to be involved through our newsletters, website or calling our phone number. I always encouraged them all to do that.” Then she said good bye. Conversation was over and we also had to say thank you to Elena for doing a good job.

Note: SOL study’s telephone number in Chicago is: 1-800-749-4765. If you are a past SOL participant and you have any questions regarding your participation, or want to update your contact information, just call this number. Bilingual staff is responding to calls.

Why High Blood Cholesterol is a Health Concern?

Because the higher your blood cholesterol, the greater your risk of developing or having a heart attack. Each year, more than a million Americans have a heart attack, and about half a million people die of heart disease.
When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries. Over time, this buildup causes “hardening of the arteries” so that arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart becomes slowed down or blocked. This may cause chest pain or even a heart attack.
High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware when their cholesterol is too high. It is important to find out your cholesterol numbers. Lowering levels that are too high lessens the risk of developing heart disease or dying from it if you already have it.
How to Prevent or Lower Blood Cholesterol Levels?
These are things you can do something about it:
 Eat a Healthy Diet: learn more on healthy diet and practice it. Healthy diet as recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is a great option. Go to this website: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
 Watch your weight: being overweight tends to increase your cholesterol level.
 Increase your physical activity: regular physical activity can help lower your cholesterol levels.
 Get a Doctor Check-Up: regular check-ups with your doctor are important because not only you are properly diagnosed but also can have an earlier treatment if you need it.
Learn more about cholesterol…
More information on lowering cholesterol is available from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Web site at www.nhlbi.nih.gov (under Health Information for the Public). Podcasts and Spanish-language articles also can be found in the online Diseases and Conditions Index at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci.
You also can order or download information on lowering cholesterol from the NHLBI Web site or by calling the NHLBI Health Information Center at 301–592–8573 (TTY: 240–629–3255).