FDA Consumer magazine
July-August 2003 Issue

Hispanic Health: Renewed Collaboration

By Linda Bren

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the May 5, 1862, Battle of Puebla, in which a band of Mexican patriots defeated a formidable French army force twice its size. Over the past 15 years, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a greater significance as a day to celebrate and honor the heritage, cultural pride, and unity of Hispanic-Americans.

This year, Cinco de Mayo marked a celebration of another kind: a renewed collaboration between the Food and Drug Administration and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH), the oldest and largest network of U.S. health and human service providers for Hispanic consumers. FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., and Jane L. Delgado, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of the Alliance, chose the day to sign a letter of commitment to work together to help Hispanic communities across the nation achieve good health.

"The FDA is committed to making sure that consumers have the latest and best information to make decisions about their health," McClellan said. "We are going to redouble efforts to make sure that happens in the Hispanic community."

"For almost 100 years, the FDA has protected the public's health," added Delgado. "When we can use a food label to make decisions about nutrition, have access to safe and effective vaccines, when women can safely use mammography and Pap smears to obtain reliable information about cancer risks--that is because the FDA is doing its job to protect the public's health. Today, by renewing a focus on outreach to Hispanic health consumers, the FDA is again demonstrating its leadership and commitment to building a healthier future for all."

To help empower members of the growing Hispanic population to take charge of their health, the FDA is expanding consumer access to Spanish-language health information and initiating joint opportunities for community outreach with the Alliance.

The Spanish publications currently offered by the FDA cover a broad range of topics, including diabetes, arthritis treatments, using medicine safely, eating for a healthy heart, keeping food safe, and vaccinating children to protect them from serious diseases. Many of these publications are distributed to Hispanic consumers by the FDA's public affairs specialists, a team of more than 40 health educators around the country. These specialists speak at conferences, participate in health fairs, develop community education programs, work with the Hispanic media, and conduct other outreach activities to the Hispanic community.

Recent outreach activities have included presenting healthy cooking demonstrations to Hispanic childcare providers in New York City and sharing information on diabetes, breast cancer and nutrition at Hispanic Women's Health Day in Dallas. In North Carolina, home of one of the fastest-growing Hispanic communities in the country, FDA educators shared literature on food and drug safety with consumers at La Fiesta del Pueblo, a two-day event in Chapel Hill celebrating Latino culture.

Another means of delivering information is through the newly launched Su Familia, a toll-free National Hispanic Family Health Helpline developed and operated by the Alliance. Unveiled in March by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, the helpline gives consumers free, reliable, and confidential health information. "People can get basic information in Spanish and English that will help them prevent and manage chronic conditions such as diabetes," says Delgado. Hispanics are nearly two times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Su Familia helpline is staffed by bilingual and culturally proficient information specialists. By providing a ZIP code, callers can be referred to local health providers who speak Spanish or who have Spanish-speaking staff, including community and migrant health centers. Su Familia staff work diligently to identify Spanish-speaking providers throughout the country, especially in new and emerging Hispanic communities, to add to the helpline's database of over 20,000 health providers.

Callers to Su Familia can also request basic health information and receive consumer-friendly bilingual fact sheets. The several thousand calls coming in to the helpline each month pertain to a variety of issues, says Eliana Loveluck, director of the Alliance's Center for Consumers. Callers request information ranging from diabetes and nutrition, to immunization schedules for children and flu vaccinations for adults, to breast cancer screening, breast-feeding, birth control, and HIV and AIDS.

Although the majority of callers are Spanish-speaking consumers, some are non-Spanish-speaking providers asking for specific information, says Loveluck. Recently, a number of providers have asked for the Spanish names for the types of fish (shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish) that pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children should avoid because they contain higher levels of methylmercury.

Hispanics are the nation's largest racial or ethnic minority group, with a population of 40 million. By 2050, a quarter of the U.S. population is projected to be Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The helpline is funded by the Office of Minority Health of the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The FDA and the Alliance are working closely to provide leadership and community outreach projects throughout the year and are currently planning key events for Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, 2003.

"By renewing our collaboration with the NAHH and the Hispanic community, we are building a stronger working relationship, a relationship which will enhance our ability to address the health disparities and particular needs felt by Hispanic people," says McClellan.

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For More Information

Food and Drug Administration
www.fda.gov/oc/spanish

National Alliance for Hispanic Health
www.hispanichealth.org/healthfacts.lasso

Su Familia toll-free helpline
1-866-SU-FAMILIA (1-866-783-2645)
Open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday
www.hispanichealth.org/sufamilia.lasso

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