# Optimizing SARS-CoV-2 Testing and Promotores Interventions to Serve Latinx Communities

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF OREGON · 2022 · $682,242

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is the worst health crisis the United States and world have faced in a
century. Although this highly contagious virus has infected tens of millions of Americans already, the pandemic
is far from over, and the disease burdens continue to be disproportionately born by historically underserved
populations such as Latinx communities. Nationally, Latinx people with COVID-19 are hospitalized at four
times the rate of Whites and have much higher rates of morbidity and mortality. This disparity is notable in
Oregon, where the 13% of our population that is Latinx represents approximately 24% of COVID-19 cases.
Yet, vaccination rates for Latinx remain below the state average. Thus, an urgent need exists to reach
Oregon’s Latinx community with public health and prevention messages that emphasize the value of continued
COVID-19 testing and that address vaccine hesitancy. This project will build upon our successful RADx-UP
Phase I culturally-tailored community outreach and testing program through the implementation of Phase II
goals of increasing the reach and uptake of testing and decreasing vaccine hesitancy in Latinx individuals in
Oregon. The project will maintain and expand a world-class team of prevention scientists, public health
experts, Latinx researchers, community partners, and biologists who have been working together to conduct
SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing since March 2020. This team established a CLIA-certified laboratory and
honed molecular testing protocols, procured millions of dollars of diagnostic testing equipment and supplies,
and partnered with county public health offices and hospitals throughout the state to conduct testing. The team
has been engaged in comprehensive community partnerships using community-based participatory research
methods in Phase I to deliver a culturally-tailored intervention that shows preliminary efficacy in increasing
testing among Latinx individuals. Building on the lessons learned in the first 6 months of our Phase I RADX-UP
testing, we will refocus our existing testing program to broaden our reach by partnering with state and
community organizations offering other services to Latinx communities across Oregon. With continued support
from the Latinx Community and Scientific Advisory Board, the project will refocus to support the testing of 100
individuals each month across the state of Oregon, focusing specifically on locating testing events at venues
that serve Latinx individuals (e.g., mobile Mexican Consulate events across the state). The previously
launched health intervention (Promotores de Salud) will also be refocused to promote the benefits of continued
testing and vaccination uptake, and barriers to these important health behaviors will be evaluated. Over time,
this project will continue to help communities institutionalize optimal local testing frameworks that are
sustainable. The resulting testing and structures and systems will be poised for future sc...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10484828
- **Project number:** 3P50DA048756-04S3
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
- **Principal Investigator:** Philip A Fisher
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $682,242
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10484828

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10484828, Optimizing SARS-CoV-2 Testing and Promotores Interventions to Serve Latinx Communities (3P50DA048756-04S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10484828. Licensed CC0.

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