Engaging At-Risk Rural Residents in Secondary Lung Cancer Prevention.

Introduction: Rural residents are at elevated risk for lung cancer and related mortality, yet limited research has explored their perspectives on cancer risk or prevention options, including tobacco treatment and lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). This qualitative study examined attitudes and beliefs among rural adults who reported either current or former tobacco use, as well as disengagement from the health care system.

Methods: We conducted 6 focus groups with rural Maine residents at risk for lung cancer based on age and smoking history (n = 50).

Communicating Scientific Uncertainty About the COVID-19 Pandemic: Online Experimental Study of an Uncertainty-Normalizing Strategy.

Background: Communicating scientific uncertainty about public health threats such as COVID-19 is an ethically desirable task endorsed by expert guidelines on crisis communication. However, the communication of scientific uncertainty is challenging because of its potential to promote ambiguity aversion-a well-described syndrome of negative psychological responses consisting of heightened risk perceptions, emotional distress, and decision avoidance. Communication strategies that can inform the public about scientific uncertainty while mitigating ambiguity aversion are a critical unmet need.

Area Deprivation Index and Rurality in Relation to Lung Cancer Prevalence and Mortality in a Rural State.

Background: We sought to describe lung cancer prevalence and mortality in relation to socioeconomic deprivation and rurality.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional analysis of prevalent lung cancers from a statewide all-payer claims dataset from 2012 to 2016, lung cancer deaths in Maine from the state death registry from 2012 to 2016, rurality, and area deprivation index (ADI), a geographic area-based measure of socioeconomic deprivation. Analyses examined rate ratios for lung cancer prevalence and mortality according to rurality (small and isolated rural, large rural, or urban) and ADI (quintiles, with highest reflecting the most deprivation) and after adjusting for age, sex, and area-level smoking rates as determined by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Disclosing genetic risk for Alzheimer's dementia to individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Introduction: The safety of predicting conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia using apolipoprotein E () genotyping is unknown.

Methods: We randomized 114 individuals with MCI to receive estimates of 3-year risk of conversion to AD dementia informed by genotyping (disclosure arm) or not (non-disclosure arm) in a non-inferiority clinical trial. Primary outcomes were anxiety and depression scores.

Association Between Rurality and Lung Cancer Treatment Characteristics and Timeliness.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States, and rural states bear a greater burden of disease.

Methods: We analyzed tumor registry data to examine relationships between rurality and lung cancer stage at diagnosis and treatment. Cases were from the Maine Cancer Registry from 2012 to 2015, and rurality was defined using rural-urban commuting areas.

Timeliness of access to lung cancer diagnosis and treatment: A scoping literature review.

The Institute of Medicine recently called for increased understanding of and commitment to timely care. Lung cancer can be difficult to diagnose, resulting in delays that may adversely affect survival; rapid diagnosis and treatment therefore is critical for enabling improved patient outcomes. This scoping review provides an update on timeliness of lung cancer care over the past decade.

A taxonomy of medical uncertainties in clinical genome sequencing.

Purpose: Clinical next-generation sequencing (CNGS) is introducing new opportunities and challenges into the practice of medicine. Simultaneously, these technologies are generating uncertainties of an unprecedented scale that laboratories, clinicians, and patients are required to address and manage. We describe in this report the conceptual design of a new taxonomy of uncertainties around the use of CNGS in health care.

Social Media Use in Research: Engaging Communities in Cohort Studies to Support Recruitment and Retention.

Background: This paper presents the first formal evaluation of social media (SM) use in the National Children's Study (NCS). The NCS is a prospective, longitudinal study of the effects of environment and genetics on children's health, growth and development. The Study employed a multifaceted community outreach campaign in combination with a SM campaign to educate participants and their communities about the Study.

Calibrating longitudinal cognition in Alzheimer's disease across diverse test batteries and datasets.

Background: We sought to identify optimal approaches by calibrating longitudinal cognitive performance across studies with different neuropsychological batteries.

Methods: We examined four approaches to calibrate cognitive performance in nine longitudinal studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 10,875): (1) common test, (2) standardize and average available tests, (3) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with continuous indicators, and (4) CFA with categorical indicators. To compare precision, we determined the minimum sample sizes needed to detect 25% cognitive decline with 80% power.