Academic stress may be the single most dominant stress factor that affects the mental well-being of college students. Some groups of students may experience more stress than others, and the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic could further complicate the stress response. We surveyed 843 college students and evaluated whether academic stress levels affected their mental health, and if so, whether there were specific vulnerable groups by gender, race/ethnicity, year of study, and reaction to the pandemic. Using a combination of scores from the Perception of Academic Stress Scale (PAS) and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), we found a significant correlation between worse academic stress and poor mental well-being in all the students, who also reported an exacerbation of stress in response to the pandemic. In addition, SWEMWBS scores revealed the lowest mental health and highest academic stress in non-binary individuals, and the opposite trend was observed for both the measures in men. Furthermore, women and non-binary students reported higher academic stress than men, as indicated by PAS scores. The same pattern held as a reaction to COVID-19-related stress. PAS scores and responses to the pandemic varied by the year of study, but no obvious patterns emerged. These results indicate that academic stress in college is significantly correlated to psychological well-being in the students who responded to this survey. In addition, some groups of college students are more affected by stress than others, and additional resources and support should be provided to them.

The purpose of the study was to explore differences in Google search autocompletes between English and Spanish‐speaking users during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Twenty‐nine individuals who were in areas with shelter‐in‐place state orders participated in a virtual focus group meeting to understand the algorithm bias of COVID‐19 Google autocompletes. The three focus group meetings lasted for 90–120 minutes. A codebook was created and transcripts were coded using NVivo qualitative software with a 95% intercoder reliability between two coders. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Among the 29 participants, six self‐identified as White, seven as Black/African American, five as American Indian or Alaska Native, four as Asian Indian, and three as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. In terms of ethnicity, 21 participants identified as Hispanic/Latino. The themes that emerged from the study were: (1) autocompletes evoked fear and stress; (2) skepticism and hesitation towards autocomplete search; (3) familiarity with COVID‐19 information impacts outlook on autocomplete search; (4) autocompletes can promote preselection of searches; and (5) lesser choice of autocomplete results for Spanish‐speaking searchers. Spanish speakers expressed concerns and hesitation due to social factors and lack of information about COVID‐19.

Background: The cancer health justice lab [CHJL] formed in 2019, is a multidisciplinary lab comprised of underrepresented undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students and diverse professionals in public health, social work, nutrition, medicine, nursing, and criminal justice. Using a social determinants of health framework, CHJL focuses on mentoring and training students from underrepresented backgrounds to increase participation in cancer health disparities research and practice. Methods: In collaboration with the Northeast Regional Alliance HCOP Academy Program (NERA), a program that supports minority and economically disadvantaged undergraduate and high school students interested in health careers, and the Rutgers Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning, CHJL recruits 3-4 interns per semester. Didactics include leading journal clubs focusing on social determinants of health, health disparities, adverse childhood experiences, and health equity topics. Responsibilities include developing, designing, and implementing a community-based initiative that serves vulnerable populations, grant writing, and peer-reviewed article publications in high impact journals. Results: CHJL currently has 24 members - 14 members are active, including seven interns. Two former interns have been hired as research assistants and are currently pursuing a master's degree in public health. Past members are pursuing postgraduate level education in public health and biomedical sciences. CHJL has generated seven peer-reviewed articles on areas including: systematic reviews of digital cancer education, mental health and social ties of people who are incarcerated and implementing evidence-based practices in state prisons. Current projects include research to understand smoking and vaping behaviors among sexual and gender minority groups; Cancer 101 videos, a short video on COVID-19 for Spanish speakers; auto-complete searches language bias in COVID-19, medication-assisted treatment in jails, group-based counseling, and smoking cessation treatment in prisons, and colorectal cancer screening in urban populations. Conclusion: CHJL addresses health inequities through education, mentoring, advocacy, training, and research. It serves as a model to increase diversity in the health-related workforce and a mechanism for historically underrepresented groups in medicine and public health to contribute to science. This multidisciplinary approach may be useful in educating the next generation of public health and health-related professionals. Furthermore, CHJL could serve as a venue to reduce social isolation and feelings of otherness that may contribute to health inequities. Citation Format: Nadia Smith, Sarah Malarkey, Pamela Valera, Luis Alzate-Duque, Humberto Baquerizo. A health and justice lab to address cancer related health disparities and social determinants of health in marginalized communities: The Cancer Health Justice Lab [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2554.