Introduction Gestational Diabetes, with approximately 200,000 cases per year in the United States, is a prevalent disease that demands immediate medical attention, particularly in severe cases, as it can pose significant risks to one's health and sometimes even be life-threatening. The condition may persist for several months or years, underscoring the importance of proper management and ongoing care. (more…)

On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) effective May 11th. Though this may seem like the final step towards a post-pandemic world, it is dreadful news for 7 to 15 million people in the U.S. who could lose their health insurance as early as now. The public health emergency declaration created many benefits especially for those who had no or limited health coverage. The most important advantage is the federal law called the continuous enrollment requirement that mandated states to stop all Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility redeterminations. This protected millions from losing their much-needed health coverage during the pandemic. The continuous enrollment requirement expired on March 31, 2023, which will restart Medicaid redeterminations and eligibility checks.Up to 15 million people in the U.S. will lose their health coverage because of this. To make matters worse, almost 6 million people who are actually still eligible for coverage will be dropped due to administrative issues, namely the churning process. (more…)

According to Healthy People 2030, the percentage of children and adolescents who engage in physical activities is declining. From 2016-2017, it was reported that 58.4% of children aged 6-17 years participated in physical activities, and this percentage decreased to 56.1% for 2018-2019.[1] Exposing children to sports at a young age teaches them life-long skills and helps create lasting physical, mental, and emotional benefits. Sports improve one’s mood, academic performance, sleep patterns, healthy eating, teamwork, problem-solving skills, concentration, and self-confidence. All this helps combat Type 2 Diabetes, as well as reduce levels of stress, depression, and anxiety.

Image attribution: USAG-Humphreys on Flickr (more…)

Image by Freepik.com 

Halloween just ended and the thoughts of the holidays sends a rush of adrenaline down my spine. The past two years have been a blur to me as I navigate through how I spent the holidays with fewer family and friends. How is this one going to be? The stress of putting things in order, sending invites and greeting cards across countries, and also the many gifts and meals to deal with. There’s one thing I keep reminding myself of: to prioritize my inner self, my emotional well-being before others. (more…)

Many people romanticize the idea of having a college experience. The people you meet, the unbreakable bonds you create and the memories that will last a lifetime. But nobody talks about the pressure to choose a career, the realities of living with roommates, the unforeseen changes that occur... and in some cases a pandemic that will completely alter this romanticized version of reality. My college experience has not been the perfect picture that everyone paints and hopes for but it has taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined. I have been so lucky to create my own life in San Diego, establish a close-knit group of friends, become exposed to different-minded people, and acquire more knowledge in my field of study. (more…)

The COVID-19 pandemic created a global shift affecting families worldwide and has caused immense consequences to children both mentally and physically. At its onset, much of the world was placed on a lockdown, which limited human interaction and replaced it with virtual forms of communication reliant on technology. An increased reliance on social platforms and the internet at-large have altered child development to the extent that their mental and physical health is at stake. (more…)

Many factors influence the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes in the United States. The majority of current intervention strategies focus on the primary prevention and management of type 2 diabetes through individual life modifications. Health education is a commonly implemented approach used to facilitate dietary changes and increase physical activity. While this method is effective, there is an additional factor to consider in preventing and managing diabetes. This factor is known as stress, which can arise from the structures that shape community behavior and at-risk populations’ environment. Considering stress and how it can impact diabetes may provide a new paradigm for creating intervention strategies in the future. (more…)

It’s hard to believe 2021 is almost over as we transition from summer to fall and the Covid-19 pandemic continues to leave us feeling isolated, insecure, and exhausted. Many of my friends, co-workers, and family have expressed frustration at the lack of boundaries between a work- personal life balance, which was extremely frayed before the pandemic. (The last two HOP staff blogs discussed burn-out, self-care and healing. We have a theme going!) Now that we have been working at home for the last 18 months, this boundary seems to have disappeared altogether. Over 50% of the US workforce reports feeling burned out – 2021 is being hailed as the Great Resignation. Burnout didn’t come about solely because of the pandemic. The American workforce, especially health care workers, were suffering from this long before March 2020. (more…)

Diabetes prevalence among Latino families/vulnerable populations Hispanic/Latino Americans are a diverse group that includes people of various cultures and races. Hispanics are the largest minority in the United States and have higher rates of diabetes in both adults and children as compared to other racial/ethnic groups. ⁽¹⁾ Latinos are among the fastest growing groups in the United States and, yet, as a whole have low access to medical care and poor general health partly due to sociocultural factors related to economic status. Adults in the United States have a 40 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes as compared to the 50 percent chance of Hispanic and Latino adults causing higher rates of diabetes-related complications such as kidney failure and vision loss. Hispanics/Latinos are most prevalent to diabetes which can be linked to their cultural values, food, genetics, education levels, and social support systems. ⁽²⁾ (more…)

“Whatever you’re feeling, be good to yourself. If you feel lost, be patient with yourself while you find your way. If you feel scared, be gentle with yourself while you find the strength to face your fear. If you feel hurt, be kind to yourself while you grieve and slowly heal. You can’t bully yourself into clarity, courage, or peace, and you can’t rush self-discovery or transformation. Some things simply take time, so take the pressure off and give yourself space to grow.”

- Lori Deschene

The year 2020 was a transformative year for the majority of the world.  As society shutdown and quarantining was implemented, many of us needed to adjust to a new reality for the unforeseeable future.  Economic hardships, a mysterious virus, stress, and loneliness wreaked havoc on many individuals.  Essential workers, the heroes that kept our society running, were faced with potentially stressful work environments due to the highly contagious Covid-19 virus along with a demanding workload.  While the occurrence of workplace burnout throughout the Covid-19 pandemic is well documented, I had a very different experience.  For the first time in a long time, despite everything around me, I felt peace.  The pandemic granted me the opportunity to connect with someone that I neglected for years, myself. (more…)

Health education is one of the core components of decreasing the prevalence of diabetes and improving health outcomes around the disease, especially when it comes to children. The earlier in a child’s life that they can learn healthy habits, the better their health outcomes will be later in life. Doing this establishes a foundation that will make it easier to maintain healthy behaviors and avoid the controllable factors that contribute to diabetes onset as adults. However, health education can be complex for children, especially younger children. Educators need to consider several strategies when tailoring their content because learning and cognition vary greatly, even from one year of age to the next. It may seem daunting to have so many contingencies in place depending on the specific age of your audience. This can be partially mitigated by including parents and caregivers in the education curriculum, either in-person or through take-home resources. By involving parents as part of your health education, the opportunity for that information to take root will be prolonged beyond that specific event. (more…)

How Culture affects Latino families/Vulnerable Populations Hispanic Americans include a diverse group of cultures, each with their traditions and dietary lifestyles, making them more prone to Diabetes. Diabetes is most prevalent among the Latino/Hispanic communities due to poor general health. Poor general health can be associated with the individual's cultural values, level of education, social support systems, and sedentary behaviors. “Over their lifetime, U.S. adults have a 40 percent chance of developing type 2 diabetes,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states. “But if you’re a Hispanic/Latino American adult, your chance is more than 50 percent, and you’re likely to develop it at a younger age.” (1) (more…)

One of the most important strategies for diabetes management and improvement is through maintaining a healthy diet. Combined with physical activity, this can be the pathway to controlling this disease and improving health outcomes.[1] Good nutrition is not only important for individuals currently diagnosed with diabetes, but it can be vital for preventing the disease, especially for those who may be predisposed to it, such as family members.[2] Nevertheless, making changes to one’s diet is often easier said than done and can be intensified when there are children and a family to support. Factors that can make these lifestyle changes difficult include the affordability of nutritious foods versus cheaper unhealthy foods, the challenge of changing deep seeded habits and beliefs around food,[3] and merely being able to access healthy foods, especially for those living in remote areas or low-income urban neighborhoods.[4] (more…)