# LITE CONNECT: Addressing testing gaps and epidemiologic disparities of COVID-19 amongtransgender people in the United States

> **NIH NIH UH3** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $1,443,647

## Abstract

Abstract
Transgender (TG) people are a NIH-designated health disparities population with high morbidity
and mortality across multiple health conditions, including HIV infection, mental health, and
substance use. These conditions are a product of and exacerbated by historical and ongoing
discrimination and inequities in access to healthcare. In early 2020, Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was
recognized as a global pandemic. To date, no data exists on COVID-19 disease in TG people.
There is an urgent need to understand the burden of COVID-19 disease, investigate its impact
on other health conditions and vulnerabilities burdening TG populations, and identify future
public health intervention targets. The current proposal aims to fill this gap. To accomplish these
goals, disparities in access to testing among TG people must be identified and mitigated. The
parent LITE study enrolled a baseline sample of more than 1500 TG women in the eastern and
southern U.S. to assess HIV risk across 24 months of biobehavioral follow-up using technology-
enhanced, digital methods of data capture. Leveraging the LITE infrastructure and in
partnership with two community-based organizations, we aim to develop LITE-CONNECT, a
rapid, community-engaged mixed-methods assessment that will enroll over 2,000 TG men and
women across eastern and southern U.S. The objective of this supplemental study is to
characterize access and barriers to COVID-19 testing, provide access to and evaluate the use
of home-based COVID-19 antibody testing to identify past infection and potential immunity,
connect TG men and women to available community-based COVID-19 testing and support
services, and identify community-based solutions to support access to COVID-19 testing,
interventions, and care among TG people. Results from this study will be rapidly used to inform
community-based efforts and national COVID-19 response that is inclusive of TG people. The
proposed research will provide critical and timely insights about COVID-19 disease in TG
people in a space in which almost no information currently exists. Early identification of
disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and in access to COVID-19 testing and care is critical to
ensuring access to services as the pandemic continues. We will leverage our existing
infrastructure and community collaborations to gather new data, including unprecedented data
from TG men, to guide urgently needed interventions to improve and optimize the health and
wellbeing of TG people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10231680
- **Project number:** 3UH3AI133669-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sari Reisner
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,443,647
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-23 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10231680

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10231680, LITE CONNECT: Addressing testing gaps and epidemiologic disparities of COVID-19 amongtransgender people in the United States (3UH3AI133669-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10231680. Licensed CC0.

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