Zeroing in on Hispanic Health

An alarming trend of serious health conditions, including heart disease and HIV/AIDS, that affect a disproportionate number of U.S. Hispanics has been reported extensively in the national press recently. Last Thursday, one of the nation’s leading investigators on health disparities research addressed a University of Miami audience on that very topic.

Antonia Villarruel, above, a professor of nursing and director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Health Promotion, gave the keynote lecture “Latinos and Health Disparities: Challenges and Innovation.” Her remarks were part of inaugural activities for El Centro, a federally funded initiative based at the UM School of Nursing and Health Studies that is creating culturally based interventions in hopes of turning back the tide of grave health disorders that disproportionately affect that population group. Led by Dean Nilda P. Peragallo, El Centro, a Center of Excellence for Hispanic Health Disparities Research, is funded by a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.