# Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center

> **NIH NIH U54** · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · 2021 · $961,973

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
In the US, COVID-19 has unveiled a disproportionate health burden in low income and underserved segments
of society. In Louisiana, some of the greatest health and economic consequences are evident in our Black
communities. There is an urgent need to establish effective testing strategies in these communities as the
Fall/Winter virus surges unfold. The Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science (LA CaTS) Center provides
the essential infrastructure and key foundational support for biomedical research in our region and is uniquely
positioned to lead a community-engaged testing research project to determine differences in COVID-19 testing
rates between community-based (churches, community centers, and schools) and medical clinic-based testing
sites, and determine approaches that will increase uptake of testing in underserved Black communities in the
South. We plan to address these issues using a two-pronged approach. First, we will use a community based
participatory research approach to determine differences in SARS-CoV-2 testing rates across distinct
types of test sites within five urban underserved Black communities in the American South. We will use
a multimedia campaign to promote and conduct RT-PCR testing on salivary samples obtained from 2,000
adults at 1) medical clinics, 2) schools, 3) community centers, and 4) churches (in random order) within five
ZIP codes with known low socioeconomic status (SES) and a high representation of Black residents. The
primary outcome will be the number of tests performed at each type of test site. We will collect information on
age, sex, race, BMI, employment, social determinants of health using an aggregate SES score to identify
important correlates of testing rates. Second, we will further leverage our strong and well-integrated
partnership with the Baton Rouge Mayor's Healthy City Initiative together with our LA CaTS Community
Advisory Boards (CABs) to conduct community-based focus groups to obtain qualitative data about the
perceptions and attitudes related to testing access and potential barriers affecting such. We will use this
information to determine community-driven approaches that are effective in reducing barriers and create
strategies to increase SARS-CoV-2 testing uptake in urban underserved Black communities. Results of
this project will greatly increase our understanding of the factors that have led to a disproportionate COVID-19
health burden in these underserved populations and lay the groundwork for developing strategies to reduce
these disparities in all underserved Black communities. Resulting data will inform the equitable deployment of
future virus/flu testing and a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10258534
- **Project number:** 3U54GM104940-05S3
- **Recipient organization:** LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN P. KIRWAN
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $961,973
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-11-17 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10258534

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10258534, Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center (3U54GM104940-05S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10258534. Licensed CC0.

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