Cancer incidence in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia: disparities in Appalachia.

Context: Composed of all or a portion of 13 states, Appalachia is a heterogeneous, economically disadvantaged region of the eastern United States. While mortality from cancer in Appalachia has previously been reported to be elevated, rates of cancer incidence in Appalachia remain unreported.

Purpose: To estimate Appalachian cancer incidence by stage and site and to determine if incidence was greater than that in the United States.

Mentorship and competencies for applied chronic disease epidemiology.

To understand the potential and establish a framework for mentoring as a method to develop professional competencies of state-level applied chronic disease epidemiologists, model mentorship programs were reviewed, specific competencies were identified, and competencies were then matched to essential public health services. Although few existing mentorship programs in public health were identified, common themes in other professional mentorship programs support the potential of mentoring as an effective means to develop capacity for applied chronic disease epidemiology. Proposed competencies for chronic disease epidemiologists in a mentorship program include planning, analysis, communication, basic public health, informatics and computer knowledge, and cultural diversity.