Objectives: The purpose of our study was to understand the perception of the Latino community in a rural state regarding COVID-19. Over one third of national COVID-19 cases are among Latinos, likely due to an increased prevalence of comorbid risk factors and social determinants of health that make following precautions difficult. Design: Respondents were recruited using snowball sampling as part of a previous effort to establish an academic-community partnership with Latinos in the area. In April 2020, we conducted 14 semi-structured interviews in Spanish with participants over the phone. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed into Spanish, and translated to English. We employed the framework approach in a thematic analysis using NVivo 12. Results: Common themes were a wariness of news appearing on social media, generalized worry, and the use of natural medicines to maintain health. Respondents followed recommended guidelines to protect their own health, though expressed concern that members of their community were not. Conclusions: We offer insights into the perception of Latinos of the COVID-19 pandemic in a rural state. Our findings may influence communication techniques of local health departments and offer a way to understand how this often-overlooked community deals with the pandemic.

Introduction: In 2020, 18.4% of Hispanics experienced mental illness, yet only about a third received treatment compared with nearly half of non-Hispanic Whites. In Montana, where only 11% of the mental health needs are currently met, service utilization is low. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of the Hispanic immigrant population in a rural state on mental health and professional service utilization. Methods: Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, we conducted semi-structured telephone interviews in Spanish. Audio recordings were transcribed, translated to English, and analyzed for themes. Results: We recruited a sample of 14 participants from Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela ranging in age from 33 to 59. We identified five themes: definitions of mental health, maintaining mental health, familismo/socialization, stigma, and acculturation stress. Discussion: Novel findings point to the need for Spanish-language services focused on reducing stigma around mental illness and incorporating the importance of social connections.

Purpose: Disparities in cancer outcomes still remain in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), where less than 30% of children living with cancer survive. In this context, the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer has set the goal of achieving at least 60% survival for all countries by 2030. The aim of this study was to describe trends in childhood mortality rates for LMICs over time and evaluate their association with the health system metrics related to the WHO CureAll framework. Methods: In this ecological study, childhood cancer was defined as all-cancers for the age group of 0-14 years old. Data were collected from public data sources including the Global Burden of Disease, WHO cancer profiles and World Bank. Descriptive analyses were performed to investigate mortality rate patterns over time (1990-2019). Exposure variables including density of hospital beds, density of CT scanners, density of MRI scanners, density of density of external beam radiotherapy, out-of-pocket expenditure, and universal health coverage index were evaluated against percent change of mortality of cancer rates (1990-2019). Smooth regression lines were used to visualize inflections points within income level groups. Results: A total of 134 LMICs were included in this study. Overall, low-income countries had the major decrease in childhood mortality rates from 1900 to 2019. The top three countries with the highest decrease in rates were Malawi, Ethiopia, and Zambia deaths (-22.6 to -9.1/100,000 population). The top three countries with the highest increase in rates were Botswana, Burkina Faso, and Dominica (+1.2 to +1.8 deaths/100,000 population). The factors associated the most with changes in the childhood cancer mortality rates over time were improvements in infrastructure, such as increasing hospital beds and the availability of cancer treatments, increasing universal coverage, and decreasing out-of-pocket expenditures for healthcare costs. Conclusion: An improved understanding of cancer mortality trends and their relation with health system variables in LMICs is important to monitor and evaluate progress in survival rates for children living with cancer in these countries. This study intends to provide insights on the use of health system metrics related to the WHO CureAll framework as priority interventions for childhood cancer in LMICs. Citation Format: Hannah Rice, Emily Smith, Cesia Cotache-Condor, Esther Majaliwa, Pamela Espinoza, Madeline Metcalf, Henry Rice. Correlation of Childhood Cancer Mortality Trends and CureAll Metrics for 134 LMICs [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Closing the Research-to-Implementation Gap; 2023 Apr 4-6. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 26.