Reflections on the Development of a Nationwide Community-Engaged Resource Center During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

RADx-UP, or Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics – Underserved Populations, is a research initiative bringing together community partners and academic teams created through the National Institutes of Health. The program aims to understand factors associated with disparities in COVID-19 testing and vaccination in vulnerable populations across the United States. Multiple strategies were employed within the RADx-UP consortium to improve access to information and resource sharing, including the development of an online engagement resource center. The RADx-UP Engagement Resource Center offers a database of community-engaged COVID-19 materials and other projects, including an Image Bank of community-generated photos and lay-friendly research briefs. Focus groups were held to gather and incorporate community feedback into the Engagement Resource Center programming. This paper aims to reflect on the use of a community-engaged online resource center to develop and disseminate trusted public health resources using a health-equity lens across a nationwide consortium of stakeholders during a novel pandemic. The RADx-UP Engagement Resource Center can offer an example of how trusted resources related to public health and health equity can be disseminated on a large scale to both community and academic audiences, as well as how community feedback can be incorporated into related programming in future health crises.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• community-academic partnership
• public health
• COVID-19 pandemic
• health inequity
• health disparities