Farmworkers are exposed to pesticides and may take home pesticide residues to their families. In this paper, self-reported pesticide exposure and home practices to reduce the amount of pesticide residues taken home were examined among 571 farmworkers. Urine samples from a subsample of farmworkers and children and dust samples from households and vehicles also assessed pesticide exposure. Overall, 96% of respondents reported exposure to pesticides at work. Many employers did not provide resources for hand washing. Farmworkers’ protective practices to keep pesticide residues out of the home were at a low level. In a subset of respondents, pesticide levels above the limit of quantitation were seen in the urine of children and adults and in house and vehicle dust. The results support the take-home pathway of pesticide exposure. Ways must be found to reduce this pesticide exposure among children of farmworkers.

Community-based participatory research is a promising approach to reducing health disparities. It empowers individuals and communities to become the major players in solving their own health proble...

Greater attention to social factors, such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and others, are needed across the cancer continuum, including breast cancer, given differences in tumor biology and genetic variants have not completely explained the persistent Black/White breast cancer mortality disparity. In this commentary, we use examples in breast cancer risk assessment and survivorship to demonstrate how the failure to appropriately incorporate social factors into the design, recruitment, and analysis of research studies has resulted in missed opportunities to reduce persistent cancer disparities. The conclusion offers recommendations for how to better document and use information on social factors in cancer research and care by (1) increasing education and awareness about the importance of inclusion of social factors in clinical research; (2) improving testing and documentation of social factors by incorporating them into journal guidelines and reporting stratified results; and (3) including social factors to refine extant tools that assess cancer risk and assign cancer care. Implementing the recommended changes would enable more effective design and implementation of interventions and work toward eliminating cancer disparities by accounting for the social and environmental contexts in which cancer patients live and are treated.

BACKGROUND: Latinas have the highest rates of cervical cancer in the United States and the second highest rate of cervical cancer mortality. One factor in the disparity is the relatively low rate of screening for cervical cancer in this population.METHODS: Eligible women who were out of adherence with cervical cancer screening (>3 years since their last Papanicolaou [Pap] test) were identified via medical record review by a federally qualified local health center. The effects of a low‐intensity intervention (video delivered to participants' homes; n = 150) and a high‐intensity intervention (video plus a home‐based educational session; n = 146) on cervical cancer screening uptake in comparison with a control arm (usual care; n = 147) were investigated. A cost‐effectiveness analysis of the interventions was conducted: all intervention costs were calculated, and the incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio was computed. Finally, women with positive Pap tests were provided navigation by a community health educator to ensure that they received follow‐up care.RESULTS: A total of 443 Latinas participated. Seven months after randomization, significantly more women in the high‐intensity arm received a Pap test (53.4%) in comparison with the low‐intensity arm (38.7%; P < .001) and the usual‐care arm (34.0%; P < .01). The incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio for high‐intensity women versus the control group amounted to $4.24. Twelve women had positive Pap tests, which encompassed diagnoses ranging from atypical squamous cells of unknown significance to invasive cancer; these women received navigation for follow‐up care.CONCLUSIONS: A culturally appropriate, in‐home, promotora‐led educational intervention was successful in increasing cervical cancer screening among Latinas. Cancer 2017;123:666–674. © 2016 American Cancer Society.