# Digital contact tracing and case investigation application on the Navajo Nation

> **NIH NIH R43** · DIMAGI, INC. · 2020 · $181,240

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the Navajo Nation, in which there is a higher
prevalence of health complications such as diabetes, heart and lung disease. Overall living conditions and a long
history of inequities resulting in a distrust of western medicine and health systems are believed to contribute to
the spread of the virus. This project is an urgent competitive revision to an existing project in response to PA-
18-935. The project supplements an ongoing SBIR Phase I project to study the feasibility and acceptability of
COPECare, a novel digital system to support care coordination on the Navajo Nation, particularly those who
have or are at high risk of cancer. COPECare is designed to facilitate the work of community health
representatives (CHRs) who play a critical role in delivering health education and guidance to members of the
Navajo Nation. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation, CHRs and other trained and lay workers
have been tasked to support contact tracing efforts throughout the community using a digital contact tracing and
case investigation tool. The goal of this urgent supplement is to study the process and early outcomes of a digital
contact tracing and case investigation tool that was customized for use on the Navajo Nation and rapidly
deployed to support efforts to manage and control the COVID-19 outbreak. We will address this goal in the
following two specific aims: In Aim 1, we will evaluate the digital tool using key metrics to gauge program
performance for case interviewing and measures of system efficiency. In Aim 2, we will conduct a formative
assessment consisting of qualitative one-on-one and group interviews with cadres of contact tracers (CHRs,
public health officials, and hospital staff at two large hospitals serving the Navajo Nation) and cancer survivors
and their families directly or indirectly affected by COVID-19. Results of this supplement work will directly inform
the design and development of COPECare and contribute to a broader understanding of how to develop effective
community-based digital solutions to support and promote health on Navajo Nation and potentially other tribal
communities across the US.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10207130
- **Project number:** 3R43MD014916-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** DIMAGI, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Y. Xian Ho
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $181,240
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-24 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10207130

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10207130, Digital contact tracing and case investigation application on the Navajo Nation (3R43MD014916-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10207130. Licensed CC0.

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