# Administrative Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2020 · $166,201

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Navajo Nation is reporting the highest per-capita coronavirus infection rate in the United States (US) with
3.6% infected and a 4.7% case fatality rate, despite quickly responding to the first cases with prevention
messaging and community lock-down measures. Chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity, prevalent on the
Navajo Nation, have been associated with severe COVID-19 illness. Although several factors have contributed
to the high incidence of infection in this population, cultural and economic factors are playing a major role.
These conditions complicate maintaining medical care while engaging with the recommendations to reduce
COVID-19 transmission. The impact of COVID-19 for the Navajo Nation can become broader than the
immediate morbidity and mortality; cancer prevention and early detection screenings may have been
postponed, cancer treatments may have been stopped or delayed. It is unknown how SARS-CoV-2 infection
and the measures to prevent infection will impact health care delivery, including cancer screening,
detection, and care. To address these disparities and to better respond to the impact of the pandemic within
one of the most impoverished regions of the US, we propose to use a multimethod approach to determine the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspectives both the health care providers and facilities and from
the individual patients’ perspective on health related care delivery, including cancer prevention, early detection,
screening, diagnosis, and treatment planning, and the interaction of chronic diseases with SARS-CoV-2
infection. Specifically, we will 1) investigate provider/health care worker perceptions about COVID-19 impacts
using online surveys and semi-structured interviews and 2) investigate changes in patients’ and communities’
care seeking capacity, using online and telephone surveys and Zoom-based focus groups with members of the
community and with cancer patients. Our research team from two universities and Navajo community members
is uniquely suited to respond because of our current partnerships with the Navajo Nation and medical facilities.
Beyond understanding what factors are contributing to the high transmission on the Navajo Nation, the data
collected for this project may allow for future assessment of the impact of delay in cancer treatment or
detection for patients. Through surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups, we will provide a broad
assessment of the experiences of Navajo households and Navajo cancer patients throughout the pandemic
and how this widespread community transmission and infection has influenced access, utilization, and quality
of health care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10268644
- **Project number:** 3U54CA143924-12S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** MARGARET M BRIEHL
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $166,201
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2009-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10268644

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10268644, Administrative Core (3U54CA143924-12S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10268644. Licensed CC0.

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