ResearchProjects

COVID-19 testing is essential to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic to break transmission chains and reduce community transmission. However, Black and Latino/Hispanic populations in frontline essential occupations such as food preparation, retail, building maintenance, personal services, and in-home health care have serious barriers to COVID-19 testing and, therefore, insufficient testing rates. This study used the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) framework to address the problem of low COVID-19 testing rates for these groups. It tested the effects of four distinct candidate intervention components and then created an efficient multicomponent strategy made up of the most effective combination of the components that could rapidly be scaled up in community settings to boost COVID-19 testing rates.

Abstract on NIH RePORTER

Gwadz M, Cleland CM, Lizardo M, Hawkins RL, Bangser G, Parameswaran L, Stanhope V, Robinson JA, Karim S, Holloway T, Ramirez PG, Filippone PL, Ritchie AS, Banfield A, Silverman E (2022).
Using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) framework to optimize an intervention to increase COVID-19 testing for Black and Latino/Hispanic frontline essential workers: A study protocol
BMC Public Health, 22, 1235. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13576-0. PMCID: PMC9210062.