Development and Evaluation of Surveillance System for Identifying Jail-Associated COVID-19 Cases in Minnesota, USA, 2022.

Confinement facilities are high-risk settings for the spread of infectious disease, necessitating timely surveillance to inform public health action. To identify jail-associated COVID-19 cases from electronic laboratory reports maintained in the Minnesota Electronic Disease Surveillance System (MEDSS), Minnesota, USA, the Minnesota Department of Health developed a surveillance system that used keyword and address matching (KAM). The KAM system used a SAS program (SAS Institute Inc., https://www.sas.com) and an automated program within MEDSS to identify confinement keywords and addresses. To evaluate KAM, we matched jail booking data from the Minnesota Statewide Supervision System by full name and birthdate to the MEDSS records of adults with COVID-19 for 2022. The KAM system identified 2,212 cases in persons detained in jail; sensitivity was 92.40% and specificity was 99.95%. The success of KAM demonstrates its potential to be applied to other diseases and congregate-living settings for real-time surveillance without added reporting burden.

Turning Community Feedback into a Culturally Responsive Program for American Indian/Alaska Native Commercial Tobacco Users.

BACKGROUND: American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) cigarette smoking prevalence is disproportionately high, especially in the northern United States. Tailored quitlines are needed to support AI/AN commercial tobacco users with quitting. OBJECTIVES: Obtain community feedback by working with trusted AI/AN partners; genuinely incorporate feedback into program design; collaboratively develop and implement culturally relevant quitline services for Minnesota's AI/AN community. METHODS: Working in partnership, AI/AN community input was gathered, and community partners were engaged to inform the development, training, implementation and monitoring of a tailored program within the existing state quitline. RESULTS: Findings suggest focusing on the commercial tobacco user/coach relationship, increased cultural understanding and program content adaptations could make quitlines more acceptable for AI/AN commercial tobacco users. CONCLUSIONS: The development and launch of the AI Quitline demonstrated the feasibility of collaboration among AI/AN organizations and community members, funders and providers to create a culturally relevant cessation service for AI/AN commercial tobacco users.

Sharing Wisdom, Sharing Hope: Strategies Used by Native American Cancer Survivors to Restore Quality of Life.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of Native American cancer survivors in navigating life after cancer and what resources and strategies survivors found useful for coping and achieving optimal quality of life (QoL) after diagnosis (the terms "Native Americans" and "Natives" are used interchangeably in this article to describe American Indians and Alaska Natives). The research questions were What advice and words of wisdom do Native cancer survivors prioritize in messages to other Native cancer survivors? and What do those messages reveal about how Native cancer survivors interpret, experience, and restore QoL after diagnosis? METHODS: This study used a qualitative phenomenologic descriptive study design. Researchers used thematic analysis to identify themes related to peer advice and QoL from transcripts of semi-structured interviews with 52 geographically and clinically diverse Native cancer survivors in the United States. RESULTS: Survivors' lived experiences directly informed their advice to other survivors, which was characterized by four themes: listen to your body, advocate for yourself, embrace your culture and spirituality, and share your story. A deeper look into the origins of those messages revealed challenges survivors face balancing their responsibility to care for themselves while simultaneously embracing cultural values of selflessness. CONCLUSION: Providers and researchers should work with Native cancer survivors to identify and leverage existing community strengths in ways that support all aspects of a survivors' QoL rather than limiting support to a single QoL domain (eg, physical, spiritual, mental/emotional, or social issues). Interventions should ensure that supports and services align with survivors' cultural values and attend to competing responsibilities to optimize QoL.

Reconciling research and community priorities in participatory trials: application to Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados.

Background: Participatory research (PR) trials aim to achieve the dual, and at times competing, demands of producing an intervention and research process that address community perspectives and priorities, while establishing intervention effectiveness. Objective: To identify research and community priorities that must be reconciled in the areas of collaborative processes, study design and aim and study implementation quality in order to successfully conduct a participatory trial. We describe how this reconciliation was approached in the smoking prevention participatory trial Padres Informados/Jovenes Preparados (Informed Parents/Prepared Youth) and evaluate the success of our reconciled priorities. Methods: Data sources to evaluate success of the reconciliations included a survey of all partners regarding collaborative group processes, intervention participant recruitment and attendance and surveys of enrolled study participants assessing intervention outcomes. Results: While we successfully achieved our reconciled collaborative processes and implementation quality goals, we did not achieve our reconciled goals in study aim and design. Due in part to the randomized wait-list control group design chosen in the reconciliation process, we were not able to demonstrate overall efficacy of the intervention or offer timely services to families in need of support. Conclusion: Achieving the goals of participatory trials is challenging but may yield community and research benefits. Innovative research designs are needed to better support the complex goals of participatory trials.

Do traditional measures of water quality in swimming pools and spas correspond with beneficial oxidation reduction potential?

OBJECTIVES: Oxidation reduction potential (ORP) is a more direct measure of water quality in swimming pools and spas than free chlorine. However, ORP is not considered in some state pool codes, including Minnesota's. This study examined whether compliance with the Minnesota Pool Code assured an ORP > or = 650 millivolts (mV), a value defined in the literature as adequate to kill viral and bacterial pathogens within seconds. We also examined predictors of ORP. METHODS: Water samples from public swimming pools and spas in Hennepin County, Minnesota, were collected during routine health inspections from May through August 2004 and assessed for compliance with the state pool code. ORP values were also recorded. A Chi-square test was used to evaluate the association between code compliance and ORP. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of ORP. RESULTS: The study included 132 pools and 30 spas. Compliance with the Minnesota Pool Code did not assure an ORP > or = 650 mV (p < 0.01). Outdoor pools had significantly lower ORP values than indoor pools (p < 0.001). ANCOVA and logistic regression models showed that ORP decreased with increasing cyanuric acid, increasing pH, and decreasing free chlorine. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with the Minnesota Pool Code did not coincide with adequate ORP values, particularly for outdoor pools and spas. Therefore, it may be appropriate for states to include a minimum ORP standard of > or = 650 mV in their swimming pool regulations. Doing so would likely benefit the health of swimmers.