News & Insights|Event
PAIR Center Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month: Todos Somos, Somos Uno: We Are All, We Are One
September 25, 2023
Excerpt
Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month!
This year’s national theme is “Todos Somos, Somos Uno: We Are All, We Are One.” It underscores the tremendous diversity and the overwhelming unity that is present in the Latine community, and we are pleased to join in the celebration.
There are quite a few events and celebrations in the Philadelphia Community. You can find them here.
Latine Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. They represent almost 20% of the total U.S. population and include people who trace their heritage to Spanish-speaking countries in South and Central America, as well as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Spain.
The PAIR mission statement voices our commitment to removing barriers to health equity that seriously ill Latine Americans patients commonly face.
We are grateful for the work of our PAIR Center colleagues who have taken concrete actions to address barriers to equity in respect to participation in our research.
The Healthy Lungs study was the very first research study launched in Spanish on the Way to Health platform. The Healthy Lungs team also partnered with PA Latino Connection, including its senior leaders George Fernandez and Sean McCormick, to develop culturally relevant communications and outreach.
The Joint Research Practices Group has created tools for inclusive language and led a successful campaign to make translation services available for researchers at Penn.
The BETTER Center has prioritized recruitment of Spanish-speaking individuals to inform our understanding of barriers and facilitators of clinical trial participation by translating surveys and recruitment fliers. The team has also distributed fliers in clinical areas that serve the Spanish-speaking population.
These steps are just the beginning of the PAIR Center’s efforts to increase the diversity of the populations and communities we reach through our clinical trials and ultimately, to improve health equity.