# Community Engagement Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2021 · $690,902

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT 
Hispanics living in the United States have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in a 
disproportionate manner, including significantly higher infection and hospitalization rates compared with non- 
Hispanic whites. The El Paso, TX metropolitan area has a substantial Hispanic population that has been 
profoundly affected by the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, especially the vulnerable residents of rural El Paso 
County. Many of these residents suffer from marked cumulative disadvantages with limited healthcare, poor 
access to public transportation, work as essential workers in low-paying frontline jobs, and demonstrate a 
persistent hesitancy to interact with unfamiliar medical systems and processes, resulting in “SARS-CoV-2 testing 
deserts”. There is a critical need to increase the number of individuals being tested for SARS-CoV-2 in El Paso 
County, however, success in this space requires an integrated and personalized approach whereby residents 
are engaged with and informed by trusted co-ethnics and local organizations. The proposed aims will strategically 
integrate University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), non-profit, business, and public partners, coupled with culturally- 
centric familial and Community Health Worker (CHWs) networks, as catalysts to: 1) reduce testing deficiencies by 
providing SARS-CoV-2 testing information, navigation strategies to testing sites, and implementing local pop-up 
testing sites, and 2) provide foundational data for understanding testing barriers and developing platforms for 
assessing future COVID-19 vaccine uptake willingness for El Paso residents. The UTEP Border Biomedical 
Research Center (BBRC), and associated Coronavirus Testing Program that provides CLIA-certified testing, is 
central to completion of the integrated approaches, and the established capability of the investigative team to 
interact with community partners and recruit participants is a prominent strength of the proposed plan. The 
proposed studies will test the novel hypothesis that improving the reach, acceptance, uptake and sustainability 
of SARS-CoV-2 testing for the most marginalized populations of El Paso County is dependent on implementing 
strategies that target the cultural, social and behavioral factors characteristic of this population. The multifaceted 
approach will enhance the testing capacity in the El Paso region, reduce testing hesitancy, increase coronavirus 
testing numbers for vulnerable populations within specific testing deserts, and exert a sustained influence on the 
health status of the region by integrating the extensive collaborative networks that are essential for addressing 
the persistent negative social determinants of health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10300139
- **Project number:** 3U54MD007592-27S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Bibiana Marie Mancera
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $690,902
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1998-06-15 → 2022-11-12

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10300139

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10300139, Community Engagement Core (3U54MD007592-27S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10300139. Licensed CC0.

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