# Addressing COVID-19 Testing Disparities in Vulnerable Populations Using a Community JITAI (Just in Time Adaptive Intervention) Approach - Phase II

> **NIH NIH UL1** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · 2022 · $1,158,954

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The
(Phase
goal of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science's (CCTS) proposed continuation
II) RADx-UP 121 project is todetermine trends and disparities of SARS-CoV-2 testing,
infections, and COVID-19 vaccination coverage in threetargeted Texas regions:Houston/Harris
County; South Texas (Cameron and Hidalgo Counties; and 3) Northeast TX (seven counties
including the city of Tyler). This effort will result in improved and expanded
time
related
will:
recent
structural
and
access
enabled
multilevel, just-in-
adaptive intervention trategies to reach vulnerable populations experiencing inequities
to COVID-19. More specifically, in collaboration with community partners, this project
1) identify disparities and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 testing and infections, considering
data on COVID-19 vaccination; 2) identify personal, organizational, community, and
factors contributing to SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 vaccination disparities,
3) expand the reach and impact of a
multil evel intervention to increase motivation for and
to testing and vaccination among vulnerable populations. The project's efforts will be
by leveraging long-standing community partnerships.
s
Phase II will be informed by learnings and accomplishments from the Phase I effort,
which have included: (1) Developing real-time data processing procedures and implemented
quality control measures for various local data, including SARS-CoV-2 testing data, case
investigation and hospital records; (2) Processing and analyzing COVID-19 case data including
over 367,000 cases in Harris County, over 40,000 in Cameron County, and over 29,000 cases in
Northeast Texas counties - all datasets now have common data elements and consistent formats;
(3) Developing several metrics to quantify the COVID-19 disease burden for the overall
population and by demographic subgroups; (4) Developing the census block group (CBG)-level
disparity index, which is constructed using 12 variables from the American Community Survey
(ACS) and; (5) Identifying the CBGs disproportionately affected by SARS-CoV-2 infections and
prioritizing them for interventions to increase testing uptake and COVID-19 vaccination using
the developed disease burden metrics and disparity index.
 Changes (enhancements and expansion) to be implemented in Phase II, as compared to
Phase I (benchmark), include: (A) Adapting Phase I CHW-training/outreach program to include
training on motivational interviewing, and an expanded focus on vaccination education and
motivation/promotion of testing; (B) Enhancing 2-1-1-based education, motivation, and referral
to testing and vaccination, (C) Including broader-based social media outreach, such as geo-
targeted Facebook ads to motivate users to access COVID-19 testing and vaccination; (D)
Conducting a panel study to compare the effectiveness of the CHW-Facilitated Self-Sampling
Intervention vs. CHW Testing Navigation Intervention on participation in SARS-CoV-2 testing,
and; (E) Assessing the impact...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10661999
- **Project number:** 3UL1TR003167-04S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Eulalia Fernandez
- **Activity code:** UL1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,158,954
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-24 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10661999

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10661999, Addressing COVID-19 Testing Disparities in Vulnerable Populations Using a Community JITAI (Just in Time Adaptive Intervention) Approach - Phase II (3UL1TR003167-04S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10661999. Licensed CC0.

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