# RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research

> **NIH NIH U54** · NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $241,286

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Urgent Supplement to NIMHD Grant U54 MD012392-04
Title of Parent Project: RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research
Title of Supplement: NCCU COVID Hesitancy
Black/African Americans (B/AA) are suffering disproportionality from COVID-19 and are further
burdened by significant COVID-19 health disparities characterized by increased risk, increased
incidence, and increased mortality rates linked to systemic bias, racism, historically-based mistrust,
and structural barriers and lower health literacy. Leveraging community relationships, technology, and
patient-provider relationships/communication are supported as potential solutions to address health
care disparities. In the case of COVID-19 related screenings and vaccinations, any solution or
intervention must acknowledge and address historically based mistrust and how this mistrust may
manifest in vaccine hesitancy. This 2-year supplement, related to parent grant NCCU RCMI titled
“RCMI Center for Health Disparities (RCHDR)” seeks to leverage expertise, collaborations and
knowledge gained from the key data collected by ACCORD (Advanced Center for COVID-19 Related
Disparities) to address COVID-19 testing concerns and vaccine hesitancy. We hypothesize that a
comprehensive program encompassing community engagement, peer support, and mHealth
technologies to improve health literacy and is rooted in the social ecological framework could offer a
sustainable approach to improving COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and vaccination uptake. This
multidimensional, theory-based project is designed to decrease vaccine hesitancy and increase
COVID-19 vaccinations in an urban community and four rural counties will aim to 1) Determine
factors related to vaccine acceptance including hesitancy and uptake, 2) Implement and evaluate the
reach and effectiveness of a comprehensive intervention to address vaccine hesitancy, 3) Determine
the impact and efficacy of strategies listed in AIM 2 and measure changes in vaccine hesitancy over
the two project year. From this work, will have a cache of tested messaging, community support,
improved community capacity and knowledge, and increased vaccination uptake.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10367532
- **Project number:** 3U54MD012392-04S2
- **Recipient organization:** NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DEEPAK KUMAR
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $241,286
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-09-20 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10367532

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10367532, RCMI Center for Health Disparities Research (3U54MD012392-04S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10367532. Licensed CC0.

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