“In the past decade the Latino population in Georgia has grown
300 percent, from 109,000 in 1990 to 435,000 in 2000,” said
Rebecca Mullis, chair of the foods and nutrition
department in the UGA College of Family and Consumer
Sciences.

“These new residents have a range of health needs that include
chronic diseases such as diabetes,” Mullis said. “But coupled
with these diseases are a lack of access to health care and
cultural barriers that often discourage families from seeking
help.”

For Doctors, Employers, Churches
…

The UGA conference is designed for anyone interested in
improving
the health of Latinos. The cost is $150 ($175 after June 28).
Registration information is on the Web site for the Georgia Center for Continuing
Education (search for “Latino health”).

Among the many Latino health issues covered in the breakout
sessions will be drug and alcohol abuse, children’s health and
how best to use Latino communications media to convey health
messages and information.

“We hope those who attend will learn about the Latino culture,
find new ways of communicating with the Latino community and be
able to identify the components of an effective health program
for Latinos,” Mullis said.

The conference is being organized by CFACS, the UGA Vice President for Public Service
and Outreach, the College
of Education and DrTango, Inc.,
a company that develops and licenses Web-based, health- and
diet-related applications and content in Spanish and
Portuguese.

Funding is provided by Coca-Cola, Atlanta Gas Light, Gold Kist, the National Institutes of Health,
the
U.S. Department of
Agriculture and the Georgia
Department of Human Resources.

For more information on the conference, call the Georgia Center at
(706)
542-2134.