An Interview with Jane Delgado and The National Alliance for Hispanic Health

Jane L. Delgado, PhD, MS; President and CEO

1. What is your organization’s interest in the Osteoarthritis Action Alliance?

The Alliance has been a member of OAAA since its inception in 2011. Our participation is part of the Alliance’s commitment to our mission of the Best Health for All. Morbidity issues define the Hispanic health experience and addressing OA is critical to improving wellness in Hispanic communities, including for many who work in physically demanding professions that can lose their livelihood if OA is not diagnosed early and managed. While OA prevalence has always been less in Hispanic communities, a 5-year trend study published earlier this year looking at the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) delivered the troubling news that the age-adjusted OA prevalence for Hispanics more than tripled between 1999 and 2014 from 2.4% to 7.5%. The rise in OA and impact on daily activity makes it an important area for the Alliance and our work in communities. That is why we value being part of the OAAA.

2. What do you think is the most important issue today related to osteoarthritis?

The misconception that arthritis is part of getting older is a barrier to early diagnosis and treatment. Too frequently, OA is diagnosed late when it is more difficult to manage and the impact on the quality of daily life is more significant. The issue is more pronounced for Hispanic adults who are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be uninsured (22% compared to 8.9%). Furthermore, Hispanics are more likely to live in communities where inadequate city investments create barriers to physical activity, e.g., lack of sidewalks and parks. We know that of lack of access to early diagnosis and community resources results in greater disability. The CDC recently reported that for those diagnosed with arthritis, 44.3% of Hispanics had an arthritis-attributable activity limitation compared to 40.1% of non-Hispanic whites.

3. How does your work connect to issues in osteoarthritis?

The Alliance’s work connects to OA across the spectrum of individual services, community capacity, and policy change.  To support individual access to services, our bilingual (Spanish and English) Su Familia Helpline (1-866-783-2645) provides callers with information on arthritis as well as connection to clinical and supportive services in their community. We have a resource called Arthritis and Your Life (available in Spanish and English) that is a part of our award-winning Buena Salud Guide series. To support community capacity, the Alliance works with our community agency members on a variety of health promotion programs which includes adaptation into Spanish of the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk with Ease guide and training agencies to deliver programs in their communities. The Alliance also promotes physical activity at all levels of ability and enrollment in year-round groups for walking, tai chi, and other movement support through our annual ¡Vive tu vida! Get Up! Get Moving health fairs that are now the largest annual Hispanic community health and wellness event series in the country. To achieve policy change, the Alliance has been involved in a wide variety of community efforts to improve access to physical activity including shared use agreements for recreation space, complete sidewalks policies, walk safe zones and community biking programs and other local collaborations with city elected and appointed officials.

4. What is a headline you’d like to see about osteoarthritis in five years?

Osteoarthritis Cured. That’s why science is an essential part of the Alliance’s mission and our work in OA. It’s also why we have joined with the NIH in a national effort to ask one million people to join the All of Us Research Program. By taking into account individual differences in lifestyle, environment, and biology, researchers will uncover paths toward delivering precision medicine. Understanding the disease pathways of OA and best ways to tailor treatment for individuals is critical to a better outlook for OA, particularly given rising incidence rates.

5. What is one interesting fact you’d like people to know about your organization?

Jhat the Alliance lives our mission in all ways, including the most difficult…financial support. The Alliance does not accept funding from tobacco, alcohol, or sugar sweetened beverage companies nor their subsidiaries. You can learn more about the Alliance at our website (www.healthyamericas.org) or by texting one of the words, “Inspire”, “Innovate”, or “Engage” to 805722.