[PBS Alumni Council ENGAGE Colloquium] Latinx Health Paradoxes, Resilience, and the Pursuit of Health Equity
Speaker
Dr. John M. RuizLocation
Sage Center, Psych 1312Info
Despite disproportionate risk, Hispanics/Latinx populations generally experience better health and live longer than non-Hispanics (NH) including NHWs: an epidemiological phenomenon known as the Hispanic or Latino health paradox. Over the past decade, our work has helped to raise the profile of comparative Hispanic health and contributed to a significant change its characterization from disparity to paradoxical advantage. The CDC now reports a longevity advantage for Hispanics v. NH Whites as 3.3 years and rising. This change has altered perceptions of Hispanic health, opened the door to investigating the causes of resilience, and spurred interest in more tailored risk estimation models. It has also highlighted limitations of current deficit models which are based solely on risk factors, and the need for a paradigm shift to asset models which incorporate resilience to more fully account for variance in outcomes. This talk will review these developments, describe ongoing work and partnerships, and broader career efforts dedicated to the pursuit of health equity for all.
