The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) and La Opinión, the nation’s largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, today released "La Salud de las Latinas," a special supplement available to anyone looking for objective information on Latina health issues.

The Spanish-language guide provides a variety of health information to Latinas of all ages. The guide is a useful tool for Latinas who too-often neglect their own health to ensure the well being of their family. Highlights of the supplement include:

• Information on cancer screenings;
• Articles on heart disease, reproductive health, menopause, depression and how they relate to Latinas; and
• Resources for obtaining additional information and assistance in identifying affordable health care.

Recent data from the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a number of health discrepancies in the Latina population when compared to any other female population in the United States. When compared to the Anglo population, there are 40% less diagnosed cases of breast cancer among Latinas yet the cancer comprises a higher mortality rate in the Latina population due to its advanced stages when finally detected.

Latinas are also twice as likely as any other female population to develop cervical cancer, and only 70% of Latina women receive annual pap smears. The lack of early detection practices can be attributed at least in part to the high level of uninsured Latina women in the United States. Latinas are nearly three times more likely to be uninsured than are Anglo women: 37% of Latina women are uninsured, compared to 13% of Anglo women.

The growing need for Spanish-language health information prompted the California HealthCare Foundation and La Opinión to team up to provide California’s growing Latino population with a helpful resource.

"La Salud de las Latinas" will be distributed in La Opinión and other Spanish-language newspapers in California. The supplements will also be available free of charge by order and through a network of community-based organizations serving Spanish-speaking communities throughout California.