# Xavier RCMI Renewal Application-Administrative Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2021 · $148,592

## Abstract

The investigators at Xavier University of Louisiana propose a clinic, health care institution, and 
community survey-based research project to assess the beliefs and behavior regarding 
willingness to be vaccinated with a prospective COVID-19 vaccine among African Americans in 
the Southeastern Louisiana region. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted 
the African Americans across the United States. Louisiana ranks 1st in the nation in per capita 
incidence of COVID-19. African Americans make up over 50% of the deaths of all known 
COVID-19 patients in the state, while only representing about 32% of the population. With the 
development of a COVID-19 vaccine on the near horizon, an urgent assessment of the African 
American community’s readiness for vaccine uptake is needed to inform a pharmacist-led 
intervention model that will increase vaccine uptake. The Specific Aims of this proposal are: 
Specific Aim #1: To identify factors of vaccine hesitancy and the potential acceptance of a 
COVID-19 vaccine among the adult African-American community in Southeastern Louisiana. 
Specific Aim #2: To assess the personal and financial impact of COVID-19, knowledge of 
COVID-19, as well as experience with the healthcare system with regards to COVID-19. 
Specific Aim #3: To use the results of Aim #1 and #2 to inform a community pharmacist 
certification course and a pharmacist led intervention model among pharmacist vaccinators. 
Method: Specific Aim #1 and #2 will be assessed by a survey at the start of the study with an 
abbreviated follow-up survey 9 months later from clinic, community member and community 
pharmacy patient respondents. Changes in vaccine hesitancy and the impact on vaccine 
uptake will be determined. Aim #3 will be assessed by a pharmacist led education intervention 
model with vaccine uptake surveillance pre and post the intervention in the pharmacies. 
Impact: The implications of this proposed project are to understand health related beliefs and 
behaviors related to COVID-19 and vaccination and their impact on the likely uptake of a 
COVID-19 vaccine among African Americans. It will also provide data to facilitate the 
development of strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccination in a vulnerable community with 
community pharmacists as vaccinators with a pre-and post analysis plan to assess the 
intervention’s success. This grant will also facilitate training early stage investigators and 
diversify the health research workforce as the majority of researchers are among 
underrepresented minorities and/or women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10300107
- **Project number:** 3U54MD007595-12S4
- **Recipient organization:** XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Guangdi Wang
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $148,592
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2009-09-24 → 2022-11-12

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10300107

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10300107, Xavier RCMI Renewal Application-Administrative Core (3U54MD007595-12S4). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10300107. Licensed CC0.

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