The development of new-growth communities of Latino immigrants in southern states has challenged the traditional health and social service infrastructure. An interprofessional team of service providers, Latino leaders, and university faculty partnered to establish linkages with the Latino community and providers serving aging adults and to explore the health and social needs of aging Latinos residing in a rural region. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted through a community-university partnership, the Aging Latino Research Team (ALRT). Data were generated from nine focus groups and 15 key informant interviews with Latino and non-Latino community members and service providers in rural, eastern North Carolina (ENC). Thematic analysis was used to identify common patterns and form recommendations for future research and programs. Themes common to Latino participants were: “We are put off to one side”; “If I can't work, I can't survive”; and “Without documents, you are no one.” Themes common to non-Latino participants were: “Older Latinos are not well served”; “Older Latinos are invisible”; “Older Latinos are undocumented and afraid”; and “Older Latinos are wandering the highway”. A major finding of this research was the extent to which discrepancies in perceptions between Latino participants and non-Latino participants exist. These discrepancies revealed ethnic stereotyping and cultural insensitivity as major barriers in access to care.

Background: We conducted a longitudinal study to estimate immunity produced in response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among university students over seven months. Methods: All participants were attending a public university and resided in Pitt County, North Carolina. University students enrolled weekly for 10 weeks between 26 August 2020 and 28 October 2020, resulting in 136 young adults completing at least one study visit by 17 November 2020. Enrolled students completed an online survey and nasal swab collection at two-week intervals and monthly blood collection between 26 August 2020 and 31 March 2021. Results: Amongst 695 serum samples tested during follow-up, the prevalence of a positive result for anti-nucleocapsid antibodies (N-IgG) was 9.78%. In 22 students with more than one positive N-IgG serum sample, 68.1% of the group lost persistence of N-IgG below the positive threshold over 140 days. Anti-spike IgG antibodies were significantly higher among 11 vaccinated compared to 10 unvaccinated. Conclusions: In healthy young adults, N-IgG wanes below the detectable threshold within five months. S-IgG titer remained consistently elevated months after infection, and significantly increased after vaccination.

The Northern California county of Marin (MC) has historically had high breast cancer incidence rates. Because of MC's high socioeconomic status (SES) and racial homogeneity (non-Hispanic White), it has been difficult to assess whether these elevated rates result from a combination of established risk factors or other behavioral or environmental factors. This survey was designed to compare potential breast cancer risks and incidence rates for a sample of middle-aged MC women with those of a demographically similar population. A random sample of 1500 middle-aged female members of a large Northern California health plan, half from Marin County (MC) and half from a comparison area in East/Central Contra Costa County (ECCC), were mailed a survey covering family history, reproductive history, use of oral contraceptives (OC) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), behavioral health risks, recency of breast screening, and demographic characteristics. Weighted data were used to compare prevalence of individual breast cancer risk factors and Gail scores. Age-adjusted cumulative breast cancer incidence rates (2000–2004) were also calculated for female health plan members aged 40–64 residing in the two geographic areas. Survey response was 57.1% (n = 427) and 47.9% (n = 359) for MC and ECCC samples, respectively. Women in the two areas were similar in SES, race, obesity, exercise frequency, current smoking, ever use of OCs and HRT, age at onset of menarche, high mammography rates, family history of breast cancer, and Gail scores. However, MC women were significantly more likely than ECCC women to be former smokers (43.6% vs. 31.2%), have Ashkenazi Jewish heritage (12.8% vs. 7.1%), have no live births before age 30 (52.7% vs. 40.8%), and be nulliparous (29.2% vs. 15.4%), and less likely to never or rarely consume alcohol (34.4% vs. 41.9%). MC and ECCC women had comparable 2000–2004 invasive breast cancer incidence rates. The effects of reproductive risks factors, Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, smoking history, and alcohol consumption with regard to breast cancer risk in Marin County should be further evaluated. When possible, future comparisons of breast cancer incidence rates between regions should adjust for differences in income and education in addition to age and race/ethnicity, preferably by using a sociodemographically similar comparison group.

RRH: Rural and Remote Health. Published article number: 2668 - Colorectal cancer outcome inequalities: association between population density, race, and socioeconomic status

In local health departments across the nation, problem solving and rapid change occur every day. Often, the results of these changes or problem-solving techniques may not be studied or evaluated fully to determine whether desired results were achieved. In fact, program evaluation, research, and technical assistance at the local level may be reduced or eliminated in many states during a time of rapidly diminishing resources and increasing demand for public health services. In delivering population-level programs, quality improvement (QI) methods may provide a much-needed alternative and more efficient approach than traditional research and evaluation to help answer public health practice questions such as “How do we know when a project or program really works, and, more importantly, how can we do it better?” This article focuses on the Buncombe County Department of Health's (BCDH's) experience utilizing a QI approach called the model for improvement (MFI), incorporating plan-do-study-act cycles and small tests of change, on a specific H1N1 influenza-awareness public health preparedness communication project. In addition, results of the BCDH's participation in QI initiatives and training resulted in success implementing change in other areas of the health department including decreasing wait time and addressing a backlog of prenatal visit appointments from 54 to 15 days, and more than doubling prenatal history efficiency uptake in a 5-week period. These case studies in the BCDH present how the MFI introduced the foundation of a culture of continuous QI within the organization.