The concepts of health misinformation and health disparities have been prominent in public health literature in recent years, in part because of the threat that each notion poses to public health. How exactly are misinformation proliferation and health disparities related, however? What roles might misinformation play in explaining the health disparities that we have documented in the United States and elsewhere? How might we mitigate the effects of misinformation exposure among people facing relatively poor health outcomes? In this review, we address such questions by first defining health disparities and misinformation as concepts and then considering how misinformation exposure might theoretically affect health decision-making and account for disparate health behavior and health outcomes. We also assess the potential for misinformation-focused interventions to address health disparities based on available literature and call for future research to address gaps in our current evidence base. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 44 is April 2023. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The Microbes and Social Equity working group was formed in 2020 to foster conversations on research, education, and policy related to how microorganisms connect to personal, societal, and environmental health, and to provide space and guidance for action. In 2021, we designed our first virtual symposium to convene researchers already working in these areas for more guided discussions. The symposium organizing team had never planned a research event of this scale or style, and this perspective piece details that process and our reflections. The goals were to (1) convene interdisciplinary audiences around topics involving microbiomes and health, (2) stimulate conversation around a selected list of paramount research topics, and (3) leverage the disciplinary and professional diversity of the group to create meaningful agendas and actionable items for attendees to continue to engage with after the meeting. Sixteen co-written documents were created during the symposium which contained ideas and resources, or identified barriers and solutions to creating equity in ways which would promote beneficial microbial interactions. The most remarked-upon aspect was the working time in the breakout rooms built into the schedule. MSE members agreed that in future symposia, providing interactive workshops, training, or collaborative working time would provide useful content, a novel conference activity, and allow attendees to accomplish other work-oriented goals simultaneously.

Background: Inclusion of historically underrepresented populations in research has been a problem existing for many years. The recent Covid pandemic has exposed the significant cost of gaps in access to care. There remains a need to reevaluate current research paradigm frameworks to consider tailored approaches that accommodate any location that would ease participant burden and maintain retention. Current decentralized research models include home and mobile options. However, barriers exist, and certain demographics remain elusive to recruitment into research studies. Aim: In this paper, we aim to identify a theoretical framework that will allow for more inclusivity in research. Methodology: Current utilized community-based decentralized research models are compared, barriers in recruitment and retention of interested participants are examined, and a framework individualized to study participants is offered. Results: The proposed framework expands upon the complex adaptive systems theory to incorporate community-based research which considers dividing studies into individual study visit components that may differ in location. It allows for ease of research participant access to care and mutual collaboration among providers and institutions. This new theoretical model expansion outlines a novel approach to community-based participatory research for increased representation and inclusion. Conclusion: Investigators should carefully consider creative and effective solutions to overcome barriers to research participation access, increase diversity and representation, and provide tailored public health interventions. Minimally risk study intervention visits may occur in multiple community-driven locations such as: community resource centers, local physician offices, mobile research units, remote electronic visits, home settings, and a combination of the above (hybrid model). Breaking studies into individual study visit components expands the reach of science into the communities that have long been difficult to reach. Citation Format: Jennifer M. Crook, Manisha Salinas, Parisa Fathi, Jessica Otero Machuca, Emelina Asto Flores, Monica Albertie, Noreen Stephenson, Chelsea Reeves, Folakemi Odedina. Expanding current decentralized research model concepts for targeted community health interventions [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A060.

Introduction: Black men are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer (CaP) and havebeen found to experience more aggressive forms of cancer. The Minority Prostate Cancer(MiCaP) Research Digest is a dissemination platform with the goal of spreading community-based and culturally relevant ways to provide prostate cancer discoveries, interventions, andclinical trials among Black men. In collecting pretest data, the MiCaP team was also able tocollect data on whether participants had been tested for CaP in the last year. We were also ableto collect data on various social determinant variables to test for association. Methods: Black men living in the United States ages 35 to 70 were recruited for this studythrough community-based methods. Participants were randomly assigned to an interventiongroup that received the MiCaP information material and a control group that watched a generalvideo. Both groups received baseline and follow-up surveys to assess their knowledge relatedto CaP clinical trials, testing, and treatment. Associations of characteristics from the baselinesurvey were evaluated using logistic regression models. Results: A total of 220 responses are included in this dataset. The majority of participants wereborn in the United States (93.06%), single (49.52%), attended/graduated college (35.65%),between 60 and 69 years (25.58%), had full-time employment (52.07%), and had a householdincome between 20,000 and 39,999 (21.66%). Only about 35% had read or heard about clinicaltrials within the last year. Logistic regression found a positive association between the followingvariables and getting tested for prostate cancer in the past year: if participants had heard ofcurrent prostate cancer research or discoveries, if an immediate family member had beendiagnosed with prostate cancer, age, and level of education. No association was found betweeninsurance status, utilization of healthcare, clinical trial participation, or clinical trial knowledge. Conclusion: There is an association between being aware of CaP discoveries, diagnosis of familymembers, education, and age with prostate cancer screening. Future work should be done tofurther explore this association and how to overcome the barriers those determinants mightprovide in screening. These data and future data on this can be used to further community-based interventions delivered in culturally relevant ways with the goal of encouraging positivehealth behaviors to reduce CaP in Black men. Citation Format: Jessica Otero Machuca, Parisa Fathi, Daniel Lee, Kim Walsh-Childers, Folakemi Odedina. Potential predictors of prostate cancer screening: Findings from the MiCaP research digest study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1972.