# Comprehensive Long COVID Care for Underserved Communities: Innovative Delivery and Dissemination Models (Comunidad)

> **NIH AHRQ U18** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2024 · $984,672

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
 Long COVID specialty clinics, some with a multidisciplinary staff, have emerged in various locations, but
comprehensive, coordinated care is not readily accessible to many with Long COVID. The Post-COVID-19
Recovery Clinic at UT Health San Antonio serves not only San Antonio, the seventh largest city in the US, but
also the largely rural and Hispanic/Latino population of South Texas, a population beset by health disparities.
And yet, a major challenge in our current model is the 5-month wait for a new patient appointment and the
additional delay to see medical specialists and mental health providers. Further, given our patient population’s
many adverse social determinants of health and limited access to care, ready availability of social workers is
critical but currently limited. Within our patients’ local communities, there is also a shortage of primary care
providers available and knowledgeable about diagnosing, evaluating, and managing people with Long COVID.
Moreover, there is a lack of awareness about Long COVID and rife misinformation and disinformation among
community members in our vast South Texas catchment area.
 To improve and expand Long COVID care in San Antonio and South Texas, and to test new, sustainable
models of care, we propose to conduct the Comprehensive Long COVID Care for Underserved Communities:
Innovative Delivery and Dissemination Models (COMUNIDAD) project, a 5-year program with 3 aims:
 Aim 1: To expand holistic, multidisciplinary care at UT Health San Antonio. Together with patient and
community representatives, we will develop evidence-based, symptom-specific best practices for evaluation,
treatment, and self-care. Clinical services and, as appropriate, research study referrals, will be coordinated by a
full-time nurse clinical coordinator and care will be provided by a multidisciplinary team. To expand the workforce,
we will offer clinical rotations for health professional trainees.
 Aim 2: To collaborate with community providers on best practices for basic Long COVID evaluation and
management. Utilizing Project ECHO and other telementoring modalities, we will disseminate information among
clinicians in South Texas rural clinics on conducting a 15-minute, low-tech evaluation of patients presenting with
Long COVID symptoms. Care can then be managed locally or referred to the UT Health Long COVID clinic.
 Aim 3: To partner with the community to disseminate up-to-date information about Long COVID among the
largely Hispanic/Latino, rural South Texas communities. Based on community preferences, we will utilize
community health workers, mobile apps, social media platforms, and other communication avenues in English
and Spanish to increase health literacy and teach the community about Long COVID and accessing care.
 We anticipate participating actively in the AHRQ learning community to incorporate up-to-date evidence-
based care and share information on models of care with other Long COVID centers. If adopted nat...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10932339
- **Project number:** 5U18HS029947-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa Kilpela
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $984,672
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2028-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10932339

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10932339, Comprehensive Long COVID Care for Underserved Communities: Innovative Delivery and Dissemination Models (Comunidad) (5U18HS029947-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-08-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10932339. Licensed CC0.

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