Access to Higher Education in New Mexico: Racial, Ethnic and Geographic Disparities

Plaintiffs in the Martínez v. State of New Mexico lawsuit are 51 students, parents, and guardians from seven public school districts across New Mexico. This is a school finance case that goes beyond seeking more funds for public education to arguing that providing a sufficient education for New Mexico’s 338,307 students enrolled during the 2016-2017 school year (New Mexico Public Education Department, 2017) involves more than increasing the amount of money allocated for pupils across its 89 school districts. Although the plaintiffs in this case represent low-income and high-need families of many ethnic backgrounds in New Mexico, students who are English Language Learners, and students with disabilities, the outcome has the potential to affect every student, teacher, and administrator in the state. The trial will begin on June 12th of 2017. When the case was originally filed in 2014, New Mexico’s Public Education Department (NMPED)—the defendants in this case—immediately countered with a motion to dismiss. In October of 2014, as First District Court Chief Judge Sarah Singleton rejected the motion to dismiss, she also used the opportunity to declare public education a fundamental right in New Mexico. Martínez v State of New Mexico (2014a) has the potential to transform not only the definition of equal protection and educational equity under the law, but also to correct the discriminatory and punitive practices of current reform agendas. The author examines the possibilities of law as a form of social resistance using Martínez v. State of New Mexico (2014a)—a legal case on school finance—and the concept of sufficient education as guaranteed by the New Mexico State Constitution.

Compared with urban areas, rural areas have higher cancer mortality and have experienced substantially smaller declines in cancer incidence in recent years. In a New Hampshire (NH) and Vermont (VT) survey, we explored the roles of rurality and educational attainment on cancer risk behaviors, beliefs, and other social drivers of health. In February–March 2022, two survey panels in NH and VT were sent an online questionnaire. Responses were analyzed by rurality and educational attainment. Respondents (N = 1,717, 22%) mostly lived in rural areas (55%); 45% of rural and 25% of urban residents had high school education or less and this difference was statistically significant. After adjustment for rurality, lower educational attainment was associated with smoking, difficulty paying for basic necessities, greater financial difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling to pay for gas (P < 0.01), fatalistic attitudes toward cancer prevention, and susceptibility to information overload about cancer prevention. Among the 33% of respondents who delayed getting medical care in the past year, this was more often due to lack of transportation in those with lower educational attainment (21% vs. 3%, P = 0.02 adjusted for rurality) and more often due to concerns about catching COVID-19 among urban than rural residents (52% vs. 21%; P < 0.001 adjusted for education). In conclusion, in NH/VT, smoking, financial hardship, and beliefs about cancer prevention are independently associated with lower educational attainment but not rural residence. These findings have implications for the design of interventions to address cancer risk in rural areas.Significance:In NH and VT, the finding that some associations between cancer risk factors and rural residence are more closely tied to educational attainment than rurality suggest that the design of interventions to address cancer risk should take educational attainment into account.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is a Department of Energy federally funded national security laboratory that uses engineering and science to ensure the security of the Nation. SNL provides scientific and engineering solutions to meet national needs in nuclear weapons and related defense systems, energy security, and environmental integrity. SNL works in partnerships with universities and industry to enhance their mission and transfer technology that will address emerging national challenges for both government and industry. For several years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Albuquerque Operations Office (AL) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have maintained an inter-industry, input-output (I/O) model with capabilities to assess the impacts of developments initiated outside the economy such as federal DOE monies that flow into the state, on an economy. This model will be used to assess economic, personal income and employment impacts of SNL on Central New Mexico and the State of New Mexico. Caution should be exercised when comparing economic impacts between fiscal years prior to this report. The I/O model was rebased for FY 1998. The fringe benefits coefficients have been updated for the FY 1996 and FY 1997 economic impacts analysis. Prior to FY 1993 two different I/O base models were used to estimate the impacts. New technical information was released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. Department of Commerce in 1991 and in 1994 and was incorporated in FY 1991, FY 1993, and FY 1994 I/O models. Also in 1993, the state and local tax coefficients and expenditure patterns were updated from a 1986 study for the FY 1992 report. Further details about the input-output model can be found in ''The Economic Impact of the Department of Energy on the State of New Mexico--FY 1998'' report by Lansford, et al. (1999). For this report, the reference period is FY 1998 (October 1, 1997, through September 30, 1998) and includes two major impact analyses: The impact of SNL activities on Central New Mexico and the economic impacts of SNL on the state of New Mexico. For purposes of this report, the Central New Mexico Region includes: Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia, and Torrance Counties (Figure 1). Total impact represents both direct and indirect resending by business, including induced effects (resending by households). The standard multipliers used in determining impacts result from the inter-industry, input-output models developed for the four-county region and the state of New Mexico.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate association of education attainment and guideline-directed medications therapy (GDMT) in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Method: HFrEF patients were enrolled, and baseline characteristics were recorded. Based on highest educational attainment, patients were divided into low and high education attainment groups. Data on GDMT use at admission, discharge and follow-up were collected and between-group differences were evaluated. Results: A total of 336 patients were recruited, and 59.8% (n = 201) were defined as low education attainment. Patients with low education attainment were older and more likely to be female, obese and smokers. In addition, they had a higher prevalence of hypertension and valvular heart disease. Patients with low education attainment also had lower physical and mental component scores (PCS, 50.5 ± 6.4 vs. 56.3 ± 7.8), (MSC, 48.4 ± 6.0 vs. 54.7 ± 5.6) but higher serum NT-proBNP levels (1148.6 ± 233.4 vs. 1050.8 ± 205.6 pg/mL). Significant differences in GDMT use at admission, discharge and follow-up were observed. In the unadjusted model, high education attainment was associated with 2-fold odds of GDMT use at discharge. With adjustment for covariates, the high education attainment group remained significantly associated with being 22% more likely to receive GMDT at discharge. Similar findings were observed in associations between high education attainment and GDMT use at follow-up. After adjustment for PCS and MCS, high education attainment was still significantly associated with GDMT use at follow-up, with odds ratio of 1.13 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.08–1.28. Conclusion: HFrEF patients are under-treated. Education attainment is significantly associated with GDMT use at discharge and follow-up.

Background: Low educational attainment is associated with increased HF risk, but to our knowledge, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We aimed to examine the association of low educational attainment with incident heart failure (HF) and explore potential behavioral mediators of the causal pathway. Methods: A total of 12,109 participants in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study were included in this study. Educational attainment was measured at baseline. We assess the risk of HF across educational attainment group based on Cox proportional hazards models. Using mediation analysis, we evaluated the mediating role of behavioral factors in the causal pathway between educational attainment and HF. Results: During a median follow-up of 25.1 years, 2,407 cases (19.9%) of HF occurred. Educational attainment showed an inverse association with HF risk. Hazard ratio for low and medium educational attainment with high as reference was 1.41 (95% CI, 1.26 to 1.57) and 1.13 (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.25), respectively. In mediation analysis, the association between educational attainment and HF was partially mediated by income, waist-to-hip ratio, current smoking, BMI, current drinking, sports and physical activity, which explained 24.3%, 20.2%, 13.8%, 10.1%, 7.7%, 7.3% and 4.5% of the relationship. In total, all mediators contributed to 56.3% of the total effect. Interpretation: In this observational cohort study, low educational attainment was associated with significantly increased risk for HF. Income, obesity and current smoking mediated a great proportion of the total effect of educational attainment on HF, respectively. Our results provide the underlying insights for development of targeted public health intervention to reduce educational disparities on HF. Funding Statement: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81600206 to ZXD; 81870195 to LXX), and Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2016A030310140 to ZXD;20160903 to LXX). Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Ethics Approval Statement: The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) approved the ARIC protocol, and all participants gave informed consent at each visit.

&lt;div&gt;Abstract&lt;p&gt;Compared to urban areas, rural areas have higher cancer mortality and have experienced substantially smaller declines in cancer incidence in recent years. In a New Hampshire (NH) and Vermont (VT) survey, we explored the roles of rurality and educational attainment on cancer risk behaviors, beliefs, and other social drivers of health. In February–March 2022, two survey panels in NH and VT were sent an online questionnaire. Responses were analyzed by rurality and educational attainment. Respondents (N=1,717, 22%) mostly lived in rural areas (55%); 45% of rural and 25% of urban residents had high school education or less and this difference was statistically significant. After adjustment for rurality, lower educational attainment was associated with smoking, difficulty paying for basic necessities, greater financial difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling to pay for gas (p&lt;0.01), fatalistic attitudes towards cancer prevention, and susceptibility to information overload about cancer prevention. Among the 33% of respondents who delayed getting medical care in the past year, this was more often due to lack of transportation in those with lower educational attainment (21% vs. 3%, p=0.02 adjusted for rurality) and more often due to concerns about catching COVID-19 among urban than rural residents (52% vs. 21%; p&lt;0.001 adjusted for education). In NH/VT, smoking, financial hardship, and beliefs about cancer prevention are independently associated with lower educational attainment but not rural residence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Compared with urban areas, rural areas have higher cancer mortality and have experienced substantially smaller declines in cancer incidence in recent years. In a New Hampshire (NH) and Vermont (VT) survey, we explored the roles of rurality and educational attainment on cancer risk behaviors, beliefs, and other social drivers of health. In February–March 2022, two survey panels in NH and VT were sent an online questionnaire. Responses were analyzed by rurality and educational attainment. Respondents (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 1,717, 22%) mostly lived in rural areas (55%); 45% of rural and 25% of urban residents had high school education or less and this difference was statistically significant. After adjustment for rurality, lower educational attainment was associated with smoking, difficulty paying for basic necessities, greater financial difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling to pay for gas (&lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.01), fatalistic attitudes toward cancer prevention, and susceptibility to information overload about cancer prevention. Among the 33% of respondents who delayed getting medical care in the past year, this was more often due to lack of transportation in those with lower educational attainment (21% vs. 3%, &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; = 0.02 adjusted for rurality) and more often due to concerns about catching COVID-19 among urban than rural residents (52% vs. 21%; &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.001 adjusted for education). In conclusion, in NH/VT, smoking, financial hardship, and beliefs about cancer prevention are independently associated with lower educational attainment but not rural residence. These findings have implications for the design of interventions to address cancer risk in rural areas.&lt;/p&gt;Significance:&lt;p&gt;In NH and VT, the finding that some associations between cancer risk factors and rural residence are more closely tied to educational attainment than rurality suggest that the design of interventions to address cancer risk should take educational attainment into account.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Arizona and New Mexico Hold Historic Joint Cancer Summit

To examine if reduced financial strain and higher educational attainment would confer less advantage for successful cessation among African Americans than for White individuals. A secondary data analysis of the Quit2Live study, a smoking cessation intervention for individuals who smoke. Recruited participants from a metropolitan city in the Midwest. The sample included 224 African American and 225 White individuals who smoke. Our outcome variable was cotinine-verified smoking abstinence at the end-of-treatment (week 12). Our explanatory variables were a combination of financial strain (high, low) and educational attainment (high, low). We implemented a logistic regression analysis and a two-way interaction of the combined financial strain and educational attainment variable and race on smoking abstinence. About 25% of the study participants were low financial strain and high education, 41% high financial strain and high education, 23% high financial strain and low education, and 11% low financial strain and low education. A greater proportion of African Americans vs Whites were in the high financial strain/low educational attainment category (28% vs 18%, P = .01). Participants with high financial strain and low educational attainment had substantially lower odds of abstinence (OR = .29 [95% CI: .12, .68]) compared to participants with low financial strain and high educational attainment. Contrary to our hypothesis, race did not moderate this association. Findings highlight the constraining role of high financial strain and low educational attainment, irrespective of race, on smoking abstinence among smokers actively engaged in a quit attempt.

Background: Though Hispanics (H) have higher heart failure (HF)-related readmission rates compared to non-Hispanics (NH), their in-hospital mortality is reported as lower. Social determinants of health (e.g. educational attainment, annual income and geographic location) are associated with health outcomes regardless of ethnicity. The state of New Mexico has a large Hispanic community accounting for 47% of the population and is one of the poorest states in the country with low literacy levels. These factors make New Mexico a unique venue to assess health outcomes and the impact of ethnicity, sex, and social factors. Methods: We analyzed data from 1608 consecutive patients discharged from the University of New Mexico Hospital between 2010-2014 with a principle diagnosis of heart failure. We explored the associations between race/ethnicity, age, sex, level of poverty, education level, and distance from hospital and risk for 30 day readmission using univariable and multivariable statistical analysis. Results: Mean age on admission was 63.0 ± 14.1. Men represented 58.4% and 48.8% of the sample population were H. The overall 30 day readmission rate (30dRR) was 13.4%. 30dRR for H was 17.5% compared to 9.6% of NH (p&gt;0.00); for females, regardless of race/ethnicity, 30dRR was 16.7% compared to 10.9% for males (p=0.001). All selected socioeconomic variables were significantly associated with 30dRR on univariable analysis. However, on multivariable analysis only H ethnicity, sex, poverty level and distance from hospital were associated with readmission. Poverty level was strongly associated with higher 30dRR (OR 2.8; 95% CI 1.58-5.19; p&gt;0.001). Living furthest from hospital was associated with lower readmission rate (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3-0.8; p&gt;0.007). The rates of clinical characteristics (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, etc.) were similar between groups and did not associate with 30dRR. Conclusion: In this unique, less ethnically and socio-economically diverse environment where poverty rates are high and education attainment is low, Hispanic ethnicity, female sex, and living in poverty is associated with higher risk for 30dRR in patients with HF.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) was established in 1949 to perform the engineering development and ordnance responsibilities associated with nuclear weapons. By the early 1960`s the facility had evolved into an engineering research and development laboratory and became a multiprogram laboratory during the 1970s. Sandia is operated for the US Department of Energy by the Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, Incorporated. For several years, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Albuquerque Operations Office (AL) and New Mexico State University (NMSU) have maintained an inter-industry, input-output model with capabilities to assess the impacts of developments initiated outside the economy such as federal DOE monies that flow into the state, on an economy. This model will be used to assess economic, personal income and employment impacts of SNL on central New Mexico and the state of New Mexico. For this report, the reference period is FY 1997 (October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997) and includes two major impact analyses: the impact of SNL activities on central New Mexico and the economic impacts of SNL on the state of New Mexico. For purposes of this report, the central New Mexico region includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia, and Torrance counties. Total impact represents both direct and indirect respending by business, including induced effects (respending by households). The standard multipliers used in determining impacts results from the inter-industry, input-output models developed for the four-county region and the state of New Mexico. 6 figs., 10 tabs.

&lt;div&gt;AbstractBackground:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment is a social determinant of health and frequently used as an indicator of socioeconomic status. Educational attainment is a predictor of cancer mortality, but associations with site-specific cancer incidence are variable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of educational attainment and site-specific cancer incidence adjusting for known risk factors in a large prospective cohort.&lt;/p&gt;Methods:&lt;p&gt;Men and women enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort who were cancer free at baseline were included in this study (&lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 148,965). Between 1992 and 2017, 22,810 men and 17,556 women were diagnosed with incident cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate age- and multivariable-adjusted risk and 95% confidence intervals of total and site-specific cancer incidence in persons with lower versus higher educational attainment.&lt;/p&gt;Results:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment was inversely associated with age-adjusted cancer incidence among men but not women. For specific cancer sites, the multivariable-adjusted risk of cancer in the least versus most educated individuals remained significant for colon, rectum, and lung cancer among men and lung and breast cancer among women.&lt;/p&gt;Conclusions:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment is associated with overall and site-specific cancer risk though adjusting for cancer risk factors attenuates the association for most cancer sites.&lt;/p&gt;Impact:&lt;p&gt;This study provides further evidence that educational attainment is an important social determinant of cancer but that its effects are driven by associated behavioral risk factors suggesting that targeting interventions toward those with lower educational attainment is an important policy consideration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div&gt;AbstractBackground:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment is a social determinant of health and frequently used as an indicator of socioeconomic status. Educational attainment is a predictor of cancer mortality, but associations with site-specific cancer incidence are variable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of educational attainment and site-specific cancer incidence adjusting for known risk factors in a large prospective cohort.&lt;/p&gt;Methods:&lt;p&gt;Men and women enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort who were cancer free at baseline were included in this study (&lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 148,965). Between 1992 and 2017, 22,810 men and 17,556 women were diagnosed with incident cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate age- and multivariable-adjusted risk and 95% confidence intervals of total and site-specific cancer incidence in persons with lower versus higher educational attainment.&lt;/p&gt;Results:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment was inversely associated with age-adjusted cancer incidence among men but not women. For specific cancer sites, the multivariable-adjusted risk of cancer in the least versus most educated individuals remained significant for colon, rectum, and lung cancer among men and lung and breast cancer among women.&lt;/p&gt;Conclusions:&lt;p&gt;Educational attainment is associated with overall and site-specific cancer risk though adjusting for cancer risk factors attenuates the association for most cancer sites.&lt;/p&gt;Impact:&lt;p&gt;This study provides further evidence that educational attainment is an important social determinant of cancer but that its effects are driven by associated behavioral risk factors suggesting that targeting interventions toward those with lower educational attainment is an important policy consideration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Educational attainment is a social determinant of health and frequently used as an indicator of socioeconomic status. Educational attainment is a predictor of cancer mortality, but associations with site-specific cancer incidence are variable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of educational attainment and site-specific cancer incidence adjusting for known risk factors in a large prospective cohort. Men and women enrolled in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort who were cancer free at baseline were included in this study (n = 148,965). Between 1992 and 2017, 22,810 men and 17,556 women were diagnosed with incident cancer. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate age- and multivariable-adjusted risk and 95% confidence intervals of total and site-specific cancer incidence in persons with lower versus higher educational attainment. Educational attainment was inversely associated with age-adjusted cancer incidence among men but not women. For specific cancer sites, the multivariable-adjusted risk of cancer in the least versus most educated individuals remained significant for colon, rectum, and lung cancer among men and lung and breast cancer among women. Educational attainment is associated with overall and site-specific cancer risk though adjusting for cancer risk factors attenuates the association for most cancer sites. This study provides further evidence that educational attainment is an important social determinant of cancer but that its effects are driven by associated behavioral risk factors suggesting that targeting interventions toward those with lower educational attainment is an important policy consideration.

To investigate rates of hospice use between Hispanic and non-Hispanic white Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with cancer using data from a large, population-based study. Secondary data from the linked SEER-Medicare database including the SEER areas of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose-Monterey, California, and the state of New Mexico. All subjects were Hispanic or non-Hispanic whites, aged 67 and older, had a cancer diagnosis of breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer from 1991-1996, and died of cancer from 1991-1998. This study employed a retrospective cohort design to compare rates of hospice use between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites across patient characteristics and over time. Rates of hospice use were similar for Hispanics (39.2 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (41.5 percent). In a bivariate logistic regression model, Hispanics were significantly less likely to use hospice than non-Hispanic whites (OR 0.91; 95 percent CI 0.85-0.97). However, after adjusting for age, marital status, sex, educational attainment, income, urban versus rural residence, and type of insurance using multivariate logistic regression analysis, the estimated odds for being a hospice user among Hispanics is similar to the odds of being a hospice user among non-Hispanic whites (OR 1.05; 95 percent CI 0.98-1.13). Stratified analyses revealed significant differences between ethnic groups in the use of hospice by type of insurance and SEER area, indicating interactions between ethnicity and these variables. Our findings indicate similar rates of hospice use for Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites diagnosed with one of the four leading cancers. Additional studies from other national registries may be necessary to confirm these findings.