The New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS) at Rutgers University received a $5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to launch outreach campaigns and expand access to COVID-19 testing for underserved and vulnerable communities in New Jersey.
The program supports research that aims to better understand COVID-19 testing patterns among underserved and vulnerable populations; strengthen the data on disparities in infection rates, disease progression and outcomes; and develop strategies to reduce the disparities in COVID-19 testing.
NJ HEROES TOO focuses on the Black and Latinx communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in places where Rutgers academic medical centers are deeply rooted. NJ ACTS partnered with community and health care organizations in Essex, Middlesex, Passaic and Union counties to co-design this study.
Medical sociologist and lead principal investigator for the study, Shawna Hudson, who is also co-director of Community Engagement for NJ ACTS, reflected that “much of the public attention with ‘frontline health care heroes’ has been focused on doctors and nurses. NJ HEROES TOO focuses on vulnerable health care workers and their families, including home health and personal care aides, maintenance staff, housekeeping, and hospital security, groups which are largely Black and Latinx and have concerns about exposing their families, friends and communities.”
“This is an incredible opportunity to improve COVID-19 awareness in vulnerable individuals across NJ. It’s a game changer,” said Reynold Panettieri, director of NJ ACTS.
Rutgers is one of 32 institutions that received an NIH award through the RADx-UP program to support projects designed to rapidly implement COVID-19 testing strategies in populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic. These groups include African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Latinos/Latinas, Native Hawaiians, older adults, pregnant women, and those who are homeless or incarcerated.
“It is critical that all Americans have access to rapid, accurate diagnostics for COVID-19, especially underserved and vulnerable populations who are bearing the brunt of this disease,” said NIH director Francis S. Collins. “The RADx-UP program will help us better understand and alleviate the barriers to testing for those most vulnerable and reduce the burden of this disease.”
Rutgers researchers are also working with community organizations to understand the best way of communicating the importance of being tested and facilitating COVID-19 at-home saliva self-testing.
The study brings together researchers, health care and community partners in a collaborative effort, and is led by the following six principal investigators:
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- Shawna Hudson, professor of family medicine and community health and director of the Center Advancing Research and Evaluation for Patient-Centered Care (CARE-PC) at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and co-director of community engagement for the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS);
- Reynold Panettieri, director of Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science, director for the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS) and professor of medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School;
- Emily Barrett, associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers School of Public Health;
- Martin Blaser, director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine and professor of medicine, and biochemistry and molecular biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School;
- Diane Hill, assistant chancellor, University Community Partnerships; assistant professor, Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration;
- Manny Jiménez, assistant professor of pediatrics and family medicine and community health, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
