# Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science

> **NIH NIH UL1** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2021 · $1,231,137

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Racial/ethnic minority, low socioeconomic status (SES), and rural populations suffer profound health
inequities across a wide variety of diseases and conditions, as well as a disproportionate burden of the negative
health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Latinos make up ~14% of the Utah population vs. ~40% of
Utah's COVID-19 cases, and the case rate is over 3-fold higher in neighborhoods characterized by high vs. low
deprivation. The case rate in Utah per 100,000 is 665 among Whites vs. 3,503 among Latinos, 3,470 among
Pacific Islanders, 1,727 among African Americans, and 1,569 among Native Americans. Community Health
Centers (CHCs) are optimal settings for addressing the screening and uptake of COVID-19 testing among
underserved populations. Twelve Utah CHC systems are participating in SCALE-UP Utah. Their 39 primary
care clinics serve over 115,000 unique patients annually (37% Latino, 11% Native American, 61% <100%
poverty level, 51% uninsured, and 49% of clinics are in rural/frontier areas). SCALE-UP Utah is a state-wide,
pragmatic, multilevel intervention study. The long-term objective is to increase the reach, uptake, and
sustainability of COVID-19 screening and testing among underserved populations. The team has existing
infrastructure and “shovel ready” clinic and population health management (PHM) interventions ready for
implementation. SCALE-UP Utah builds on long standing, funded partnerships, and will implement and
evaluate three practical, feasible, scalable multi-level interventions to increase COVID-19 screening and uptake
in Utah CHCs. Interventions leverage widely adopted Health Information Technology (HIT) at the point of
care, text messaging, and patient navigation. SCALE-UP Utah will coordinate and synergize existing
infrastructure and resources across the state, as well as strengthen infrastructure and data networks for rapid
deployment of new screening and testing protocols, vaccination programs, etc. The project will employ a rapid
cycle research approach in which interventions are tested on a small scale, using short time frames (e.g., <1
month) and cyclical evaluation cycles. A critical aspect of these rapid-research cycles is that change can be
quickly tested on a small scale, and then disseminated to other clinics/patients. The interventions will be
readily available for adoption by other low-resource healthcare settings; and, the data will advance population
health and implementation science.
 The specific aims are to:
1. Implement and evaluate clinic and PHM interventions for increasing the uptake of COVID-19 testing
 among CHC patients across Utah.
2. Examine implementation effectiveness outcomes, as well as characteristics of both clinics and patients that
 may influence intervention effects and implementation outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10363309
- **Project number:** 3UL1TR002538-04S2
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** WILLARD H. DERE
- **Activity code:** UL1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,231,137
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2018-03-30 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10363309

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10363309, Utah Center for Clinical and Translational Science (3UL1TR002538-04S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10363309. Licensed CC0.

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