by Daniel Parker, RDPFS Contributor:
With September 15, 2024 marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which continues until October 15, 2024, it is timely to highlight some particular eye health issues Hispanic people face, as well as helpful resources to raise awareness of effective treatments. According to the National Eye Institute (NEI)’s page on Eye Health Among Hispanics/Latinos, this demographic faces a higher risk of developing eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Notably, more than eight in ten Hispanic individuals with these diseases are unaware they have them. For this reason, NEI stresses the importance of regular comprehensive dilated eye exams to detect diseases in the early stages, when more treatment options are available. NEI has devised a “culturally appropriate educational initiative, ¡Ojo con su visión! (Watch Out for your Vision!), consisting of videos, articles, handouts, infographics and other tools to increase awareness of eye health best practices. Many of these resources can be found on NEI’s page on Hispanic Heritage Month, which also points out how to view information on their website in Spanish. In addition, NEI features testimonials from their Hispanic Heritage Month Ambassadors, who are eye care professionals who identify as Hispanic or Latino. These practitioners highlight and represent an important and underserved population in eye care while also mentoring others in their field. For example, Zelia M. Correa, M.D., Ph.D., wrote, “I became interested in ophthalmology after seeing a corneal transplant during medical school — seeing the happiness the patient experienced at such a remarkable result. Today, I’m most excited about the opportunity to train the next generation of eye doctors and mentor underrepresented minorities and women in medicine and research.” Rafael Villasmil, M.Sc., S.C.Y.M., added, “In middle school, I learned about Marshall Nirenberg’s work on how the genetic code operates … Throughout my career, I kept challenging myself to learn new skills — but my greatest achievement is to see the work we do in the laboratory become a tool for healing. I’m very proud of NEI’s current research on patient-derived stem cell therapy to replace and repair dying cells in the retina.” More information about these programs can be found at the links above.
Webinar on Accessibility Best Practices in the Classroom, in Spanish, on October 4, 2024
On October 4, 2024, at 3:00 PM, Hispanic Education Technology Services (HETS) is holding a Zoom webinar in Spanish called “Lo que todos los educadores debemos conocer sobre accesibilidad (What All Educators Need to Know About Accessibility)” on the topic of “what every educator needs to know about accessibility.” The description of the webinar, translated, states: “Accessibility goes deeper than compliance. It is an assemblage of knowledge and skills that every professional should have, but it is rarely taught in university curricula,” due to lack of knowledge and a dearth of resources. The program will feature two staff members of Teach Access: Executive Director Kate Sonka and Director of Education Rolando Méndez. Participants in the webinar will learn about basic concepts that can be taught to students and “proven strategies for integrating their teaching into your courses and curricula.” The registration link is here.
