"You know, it feels like you can trust them": mixed methods implementation research to inform the scale up of a health disparities-responsive COVID-19 school testing program.

Background: Health disparities lead to negative COVID-19 outcomes for Hispanic/Latino communities. Rapid antigen testing was an important mitigation tool for protecting schools and their communities as in-person learning resumed. Within the context of a 3-middle-school non-inferiority trial we assessed acceptability and appropriateness of at-home and school-based COVID-19 antigen testing and implementation barriers and facilitators to facilitate district-wide scale up.

The association of perceived cannabis risks and benefits with cannabis use since cancer diagnosis.

Background: Many patients with cancer use cannabis to help alleviate untreated cancer symptoms and side effects.

Methods: We examined associations of perceived benefits and risks and postdiagnosis cannabis use in a weighted sample of adult cancer survivors through a 1-time survey. Fifteen perceived cannabis use benefits and 19 perceived risks were operationalized as both summary scores and report of any benefits or risks.

Cancer stage and consideration of cannabis use among adult cancer survivors in Southern California.

Background: The benefits of cannabis in symptom management among cancer survivors are widely acknowledged; however, patterns of cannabis use by cancer stage at diagnosis are unknown.

Methods: Here, we examined the association between cancer stage at diagnosis and consideration of cannabis use since diagnosis. We analyzed cross-sectional survey data from 954 cancer survivors, weighted to be representative of a National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center's patient population.

Distribution of COVID-19 Home Testing Through Community Health Centers: Results of the .

Objective: To assess acceptability and feasibility of rapid at-home COVID-19 testing and reporting of test results among individuals seeking care at community health centers (CHCs) and their household members.

Methods: Participants were recruited from 2 Community Health Centers during a clinic visit or a community event. Over-the-counter COVID-19 tests were distributed to participants for self-testing and to offer testing to household members.

Mental health and social connection among older lesbian and bisexual women.

Objective: To assess differences in psychosocial and mental health outcomes between older lesbian and bisexual women compared to heterosexual women.

Design: Cross sectional study.

Setting: The study was carried out in the California Teachers Study, a prospective cohort study.

Building School-Academic Partnerships to Implement COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Populations.

Objective: In April 2021, the US government made substantial investments in students' safe return to school by providing resources for school-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mitigation strategies, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing. However, testing uptake and access among vulnerable children and children with medical complexities remained unclear.

Methods: The Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations program was established by the National Institutes of Health to implement and evaluate COVID-19 testing programs in underserved populations.

At-Home Versus Onsite COVID-19 School-based Testing: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial.

Objectives: Equitable access to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) screening is important to reduce transmission and maintain in-person learning for middle school communities, particularly in disadvantaged schools. Rapid antigen testing, and at-home testing in particular, could offer substantial advantages over onsite testing from a school district's perspective, but it is unknown if engagement in at-home testing can be initiated and sustained. We hypothesized that an at-home COVID-19 school testing program would be noninferior to an onsite school COVID-19 testing program with regard to school participation rates and adherence to a weekly screening testing schedule.

Common Data Element Collection in Underserved School Communities: Challenges and Recommendations.

Objectives: To provide recommendations for future common data element (CDE) development and collection that increases community partnership, harmonizes data interpretation, and continues to reduce barriers of mistrust between researchers and underserved communities.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative and quantitative evaluation of mandatory CDE collection among Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations Return to School project teams with various priority populations and geographic locations in the United States to: (1) compare racial and ethnic representativeness of participants completing CDE questions relative to participants enrolled in project-level testing initiatives and (2) identify the amount of missing CDE data by CDE domain. Additionally, we conducted analyses stratified by aim-level variables characterizing CDE collection strategies.

A Multi-Study Synthesis of Facilitators and Barriers to SARS-CoV-2 Testing Enrollment in School Settings.

Objectives: Understanding the motivators and barriers to testing enrollment from different stakeholder perspectives is essential to increasing participation in school-based testing programs, particularly among underserved populations. This multistudy analysis aimed to identify facilitators and barriers to enrollment in school-based testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: Four independent studies collected and analyzed qualitative data from study participants regarding: (1) motivators, benefits, and/or reasons for enrolling and/or participating in COVID-19 testing in schools; and/or (2) concerns, barriers, and/or negative outcomes related to COVID-19 testing in schools.

Partnering With Patients and Caregivers in Cancer Care: Lessons From Experiences With Transgender, Hispanic, and Pediatric Populations.

A cancer diagnosis thrusts patients and caregivers into a foreign world of health care with systems, protocols, and norms that can leave little room for individual needs and circumstances. Quality and efficacious oncology care requires clinicians to partner with patients and caregivers to understand and incorporate their needs, values, and priorities into information sharing, decision making, and care provision. This partnership is necessary for effective patient- and family-centered care and access to individualized and equitable information, treatment, and research participation.

HPV Vaccine Misperceptions Among Hispanics/Latinos in Southern California.

Background: Cervical and other vaccine-preventable HPV-associated cancers disproportionately impact Hispanic/Latinos in the USA. HPV vaccine uptake may be impacted by community agreement with common HPV vaccine misperceptions. It is unknown whether Hispanics/Latinos have a greater agreement with these misperceptions relative to non-Hispanic whites.

Neurocognitive test performance following cancer among middle-aged and older adults in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) and the SOL-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging Ancillary Study.

Background: Cancer patients and survivors often experience acute cognitive impairments; however, the long-term cognitive impact remains unclear particularly among Hispanics/Latinos. We examined the association between cancer history and neurocognitive test performance among middle-aged and older Hispanic/Latinos.

Methods: Participants included 9639 Hispanic/Latino adults from the community-based and prospective Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

Neighborhood Factors Associated with COVID-19 Cases in California.

Background: There is a need to assess neighborhood-level factors driving COVID-19 disparities across racial and ethnic groups.

Objective: To use census tract-level data to investigate neighborhood-level factors contributing to racial and ethnic group-specific COVID-19 case rates in California.

Design: Quasi-Poisson generalized linear models were used to identify neighborhood-level factors associated with COVID-19 cases.

Development of an At-Home COVID-19 Test Results-Reporting System for a School District Primarily Serving Underrepresented Minority Groups, San Diego, CA, 2021-2022.

School-sponsored at-home COVID-19 testing benefits users, school administrators, and surveillance efforts, although reporting results remains challenging. Users require simple systems with tailored posttest guidance, and administrators need timely positive test information. We built a system to serve these needs and to collect data for our Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations Return to School Program study in San Diego County, California, from October 2021 through January 2022.

Improved survival in cervical cancer patients receiving care at National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.

Background: Locally advanced cervical cancer (CC) remains lethal in the United States. We investigate the effect of receiving care at an National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center (NCICC) on survival.

Methods: Data for women diagnosed with CC from 2004 to 2016 who received radiation treatment were extracted from the California Cancer Registry (n = 4250).

Addressing COVID-19 vaccination equity for Hispanic/Latino communities by attending to aguantarismo: A Californian US-Mexico border perspective.

With an eye to health equity and community engagement in the context of the initial COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, the COVID-19-related concerns of the Latinx (Hispanic/Latino) community in southern San Diego (California, USA) were examined using 42 rapid, ethnographically-informed interviews and two focus groups conducted in early-mid 2021. An anthropologically oriented qualitative analysis delimited the cultural standpoint summarized as aguantarismo, which celebrates human durability in the face of socioeconomic hardship and the capacity to abide daily life's challenges without complaint. After characterizing aguantarismo, its role in both undermining and supporting vaccine uptake is explored.

Examining the Association of Food Insecurity and Being Up-to-Date for Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screenings.

Background: Food insecurity (FI) has been associated with poor access to health care. It is unclear whether this association is beyond that predicted by income, education, and health insurance. FI may serve as a target for intervention given the many programs designed to ameliorate FI.

Brachytherapy utilization for cervical cancer in Western United States border counties: seeking to understand referral patterns for outcome improvement.

Purpose: Standard of care for definitive treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) is concurrent chemoradiation followed by a brachytherapy boost. Only 55.8% of women in the United States receive brachytherapy, with even lower proportions in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Equitable COVID-19 Vaccination for Hispanics in the United States: A Success Story from California Border Communities.

The ongoing 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the health of individuals worldwide, including causing pauses in lifesaving cancer screening and prevention measures. From time to time, elective medical procedures, such as those used for cancer screening and early detection, were deferred due to concerns regarding the spread of the infection. The short- and long-term consequences of these temporary measures are concerning, particularly for medically underserved populations, who already experience inequities and disparities related to timely cancer care.

Age-related differences in breast cancer mortality according to race/ethnicity, insurance, and socioeconomic status.

Background: We assessed breast cancer mortality in older versus younger women according to race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), and health insurance status.

Methods: The study included female breast cancer cases 18 years of age and older, diagnosed between 2005 and 2015 in the California Cancer Registry. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to generate hazard ratios (HR) of breast cancer specific deaths and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for older (60+ years) versus younger (< 60 years) patients separately by race/ethnicity, nSES, and health insurance status.

Profiles of a Health Information-Seeking Population and the Current Digital Divide: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey.

Background: Internet use for health information is important, given the rise of electronic health (eHealth) that integrates technology into health care. Despite the perceived widespread use of the internet, a persistent "digital divide" exists in which many individuals have ready access to the internet and others do not. To date, most published reports have compared characteristics of internet users seeking health information vs nonusers.

Patterns of menopausal hormone therapy use and hyperkyphosis in older women.

Objective: Hyperkyphosis, an exaggerated anterior curvature of the thoracic spine, is associated with poor physical function, falls, fractures, and earlier mortality. Low bone mineral density, bone loss, and vertebral fractures are strong risk factors for hyperkyphosis. Menopausal hormone therapy (HT) reverses bone loss, prevents vertebral fractures, and, therefore, we hypothesize, may reduce the risk for developing hyperkyphosis.

The association between bone turnover markers and kyphosis in community-dwelling older adults.

Purpose: Hyperkyphosis, accentuated curvature of the thoracic spine, is often attributed to osteoporosis, yet its underlying pathophysiology is not well understood. Bone turnover markers (BTM) reflect the dynamic process of bone formation and resorption. This study examined the association between serum BTM levels and kyphosis in community-dwelling older adults.