MOLA-NAMS Conference 2024 Outcomes Report

Latino Health Conference Learning Objectives

  • Health Disparities: Identify health disparities prevalent in the LHS+ and Spanish-speaking communities, focusing on access to care, quality of care, and health outcomes.
  • Communicative and Cultural Competence: Describe the impact of language concordant care, clinician language proficiency development and assessment, and cultural competency and humility in healthcare.
  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice: Propose strategies in healthcare and education that embrace and uplift values of multilingualism and cultural diversity as critical assets that enhance health and educational equity for historically marginalized groups and for all.
  • Collaboration and Networking: Identify opportunities for healthcare professionals, researchers, educators, and community leaders to collaborate, share best practices, and build networks aimed at advancing the health and well-being of the LHS+ population.

Participation

MOLA-NAMS Conference Tracks

  • Advocacy for Students
  • Mental Health
  • LGBTQIA+ Health
  • Advocacy for Patients / Voices to the Patients
  • Innovations in Education: Changing how we teach, learn, and assess to advance our LHS+ community
  • Innovations in Teaching & Learning: Using AI and Technology
  • Cancer and Chronic Diseases
  • Public Health 
  • Medical Spanish Curriculum in Different Settings: A look at different institutions and disciplines
  • International Health Graduates
  • DACA Dask Force/Aves del Paraíso

Poster Presentations Themes

  • Clinical, basic or translational research, including research in Medical Spanish (16)
  • Public Health (11)
  • Education, including innovations in Medical Spanish education (14)
  • Systematic/scoping/narrative review (6)
  • Case report or case series (1)

2024 Pilar Ortega MD Scholarship Recipient

This award aims to recognize a MOLA-MRF Scholar who uniquely exemplifies the following 3 qualities:

  • Leadership: demonstrates exemplary and passionate leadership, inspires others, paves a path and innovates when necessary, and welcomes challenges.
  • Academic vision: demonstrates intellectual curiosity, asks excellent questions and seeks their answers in an evidence-based fashion, demonstrates strong commitment to disseminating knowledge through activities such as teaching, research, presenting, and/or publishing.
  • Meaningful action: as an agent of change, is not satisfied with knowledge alone, but rather converts knowledge into action to make an impact in the community.
Winner: Christian Fernando Guerrero-Juarez

Poster Presentation Award Winners

1st place 
Jenny Ruiz, MD, MSCE

Alejandra Curbelo-Paz, Elizabeth Contreras, Sonia Morales, Scott Maurer, Amy Houtrow, Monica Baskin, Judy Chang

Title: Spanish-speaking caregivers of children diagnosed with cancer and communication experiences with the medical team. 

Affiliations: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine;  UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg; University of California at Irvine; Department of Pediatrics Children’s Hospital of Orange County

2ND PLACE  (its a tie!)
Gilberto García, PhD, MEd, MA

Arely Munoz, Judith Navarro, Natalia Minjarez, Tanis Hogg, Christiane Herber-Valdez, Priya Harindranathan & Jose Manuel DelaRosa

Title: Assessing Language Proficiency in a Medical Spanish Program

Affiliation: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso)

2ND PLACE  (its a tie!)
Michelle A. Rodriguez 

Alicia Hernandez, Aidan Muñoz-Ripley, Michelle A. Rodriguez, Andrea DaViera, & Amanda L. Roy

Title: Beyond Barriers: Exploring How Gender, Income, and Housing Shape the Sources of Joy and Hope of Chicago’s Black and Latinx Youth

Affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago

Best Oral Presentation Award Winners

David Camacho, PhD, MSW, MSG

Title: Culture and Context: Understanding Contributing Factors to Loneliness in Older Latinx Adults in the US. 

Affiliations: University of Illinois at Chicago

Allyson Irom, PhD

Title: Twenty Years of Medical Spanish Education: Innovations, Lessons Learned, and Future Directions 

Affiliations:  Baylor University

Reniell Iñiguez, MD 

Title: Más Allá del Estetoscopio: A Medical Spanish Podcast for Spanish Heritage Healthcare Professionals 

Affiliations: McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University

Post-Event Survey Responses

Please share with us a quote that stood out to you during the Conference
  • “Just because there are more of us doesn’t mean it’s better.”
  • “Inclusivity is key.”
  • “Si se puede.”
  • “We are not enough, we need more Latinos in medicine!”
  • “Every patient is equal.”
  • “There is nothing more important than trust, and common language builds trust.”
  • “Healthcare is more than a treatment.”
  • “Honestly, it was all so powerful. There were many amazing quotes in every session! I’m very impressed with the conference and so happy I attended for the first time!”
  • “Spanish-speaking patients need more from us, not only more of us.”
  • “Be the beacon of light and pass the baton for those following your steps.”
  • “Mental health is no longer stigmatized in our community because we (promotoras) have worked on it.”
  • “How do we start being proactive to create our own narratives as Latinos?”
  • “El poder sanador de las raíces.”
  • “Mis raíces 🙂 I loved your conference and Chicago; I want to go back next year. Please invite me!”
  • “It’s inspiring to see so many Latinos doing the work. It gives me hope for the future.”