The Creation of a Program of Engagement and Outreach for COVID-19 Among African Americans Through Community-Academic Partnerships

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Over a 7-week period in late 2020, with funding from the NC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, the West Greenville Health Council (WGHC), a community-academic, non-profit partnership, engaged and activated a 27-member organizational partnership network for COVID-19 health communication and personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution in African American communities in Eastern North Carolina. Outreach included: local production and dissemination of 10 culturally relevant safety videos, 10 risk, prevention, and safety postcard messages, 3 virtual forums, and PPE kit distribution via the network and their distribution venues. Communication mediums included social media posts (i.e., Facebook and YouTube), network email distribution lists, and postcards distributed along with PPE kits. Outreach activities were evaluated via an online survey, reach of social media posts, and PPE distribution. Working through the organizational network, the WGHC reached a combined total of 30,310 community members with educational materials. Forty-four outreach events were held during this period and over 8000 PPE kits were distributed. The online survey, distributed through the network, yielded more than 400 completed questionnaires. This tool was used to gain insights on community perceptions of COVID-19 safety barriers and media messages. The activation of the network as an approach for rapid response to an emerging public health crisis greatly expanded the reach of the WGHC. The WGHC is working to institutionalize the network to address future emerging health threats, as well as the dissemination of health information more generally.

Perspectives of African American Church Leaders in Response to COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Risk Communication Efforts Within a Community Engaged Research Partnership: COVID-19 emergency risk communication

“…Similar initiatives addressed vulnerable communities' needs elsewhere in the US but lacked an EP focus. 8,9 This study underscores the need for immediately deployable, sustainable EP tools (e.g., the FAITH! EP intervention) for church leaders to effectively navigate disasters and keep parishioners safe.…”

Minority Communities United Against COVID-19: It Takes a Village

“…In many of the instances mentioned above, individuals and groups from the communities were already in place and able to respond to the ongoing crisis. In a separate instance, the West Greenville Health Council of Pitt County, North Carolina applied for and received funding to build awareness and support for COVID-19 prevention, testing, contact tracing, and isolation support initiatives across Pitt County (Hall et al 2021). Through their efforts, they recruited 27 partner organizations, and over a 7-week period, they held 44 outreach activities where they reached 30,310 community members with COVID-19 information and distributed over 8,000 PPE kits (Hall et al 2021).…”

“…In a separate instance, the West Greenville Health Council of Pitt County, North Carolina applied for and received funding to build awareness and support for COVID-19 prevention, testing, contact tracing, and isolation support initiatives across Pitt County (Hall et al 2021). Through their efforts, they recruited 27 partner organizations, and over a 7-week period, they held 44 outreach activities where they reached 30,310 community members with COVID-19 information and distributed over 8,000 PPE kits (Hall et al 2021). As trusted members of the respective communities, community health workers provide the cultural competence necessary to navigate the complexities involved in caring for communities of color.…”