# Administrative

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES · 2021 · $375,000

## Abstract

ABSTRACT 
PR currently has the second-lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the nation. In response 
to NOT-MD-21-012, the "PR-COVACUPS: "Puerto Rico (PR) COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake 
Study", we will evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to increase 
vaccine uptake among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults aged 18-50 years. This 
multifaceted educational intervention will consist of health promoters with print 
communication materials, online interactive health communication, and follow-up boost 
calls to address stages of change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, 
maintenance (second dose), misinformation, and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination). A 
total of 386 eligible men and women will be recruited from the University of Puerto Rico 
Medical Sciences Campus (UPR-MSC) outpatient clinic, complete a baseline survey, and 
randomly assign them to the intervention or a comparison condition. A two-group 
randomized controlled trial is proposed to determine the effectiveness of this study. We 
will assess the intervention's effectiveness on COVID-19 vaccination willingness, uptake, 
and adherence. Other intermediate outcomes such as vaccine confidence and 
willingness, vaccine attitudes and beliefs, and other constructs from the Health Belief 
Model will be used to measure the effectiveness of our trial at four different time points 
(baseline, 2 weeks, 2, and 4 months). PR-COVACUPS will leverage and expand ongoing 
collaborations at the UPR-MSC outpatient clinics, the largest and comprehensive 
academic outpatient clinic in the Caribbean, and recent infrastructure (COVID-19 
immunization clinic) to maximize synergy and optimize resources and effectively measure 
our primary outcome. Our study will generate critical information to help reduce disparities 
in COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10437332
- **Project number:** 3U54MD007600-35S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Emma Fernandez-Repollet
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $375,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1997-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10437332

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10437332, Administrative (3U54MD007600-35S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10437332. Licensed CC0.

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