# Creating Access to Resources and Economic Support > **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2022 · $700,534 ## Abstract Project Summary/Abstract Transgender people experience economic and psychosocial inequities that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic-related financial and mental health harms. Sustainable, multilevel interventions are needed to address these harms and promote COVID- 19 prevention behaviors. Transgender-led organizations have been galvanized to provide emergency financial and peer support for transgender people negatively impacted by COVID- 19. However, the efficacy of these interventions have not been evaluated. Leveraging existing community partnerships and ongoing cohorts, the study seeks to assess the efficacy of feasible, acceptable, community-derived interventions to reduce economic and psychological harms experienced by transgender people in the wake of COVID-19. The specific aims of the project are to (1) compare the efficacy of microgrants with or without peer mentoring to reduce psychological distress and increase COVID-19 prevention behaviors; (2) examine mechanisms by which microgrants with or without peer mentoring may impact psychological distress; and (3) explore transgender participants' intervention experiences and perceived efficacy. These aims will be met by enrolling 360 transgender adults into an embedded, mixed methods, 3-arm, 12- month randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomized 1:1:1 to the following arms: (a) a single microgrant plus monthly financial literacy education (usual care); (b) usual care plus monthly microgrants; or (c) usual care plus monthly microgrants combined with peer mentoring. All intervention arms will last for 6 months, and participants will complete semi-annual web- based surveys at 0, 6, and 12 months as well as text-based process measures at 3 and 6 months to meet Aims 1 and 2. A subset of 36 participants, 12 per arm, will complete longitudinal in depth interviews at 3 and 9 months to meet Aim 3. In addition to addressing the pressing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on a vulnerable health disparities population, this study will advance the science of minority stress and mental health inequities by testing interventions that operate on general stressors – i.e., material hardship and community connection – rather than minority stressors such as enacted stigma. This national, online study will address multilevel – structural and community – factors driving COVID-19 pandemic harms. Its equitable community partnership will ensure that study findings are actionable and disseminated rapidly to inform sustainable community-based responses to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future emergencies. ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10500241 - **Project number:** 1R01MD016755-01A1 - **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL - **Principal Investigator:** TONIA C POTEAT - **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2022 - **Award amount:** $700,534 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2022-07-21 → 2027-03-31 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10500241 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10500241, Creating Access to Resources and Economic Support (1R01MD016755-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10500241. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*