Community-Campus Partnerships for Health joins Duke Clinical Research Institute, UNC Center for Health Equity Research, and Partners in Receiving NIH Grant to Expand COVID-19 Testing

The program, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is one arm of a wider billion-dollar effort called Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx). The arm to be coordinated by the DCRI and its partners is called Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics for Underserved Populations (RADx-UP).

The RADx-UP program will support 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.

The program is overseen by a diverse leadership team that includes Michael Cohen-Wolkowiez, MD, PhD, head of pediatric research at the DCRI; Warren Kibbe, PhD, chief of translational biomedical informatics for Duke’s Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics; Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc, the founder and director of the UNC Center for Health Equity Research; and Al Richmond, MSW, executive director of CCPH. 

“We look forward to partnering with RADx-UP on this important work,” according to Al Richmond executive director of CCPH. “Our mission is to foster partnerships between communities and academic institutions to promote health equity and social justice, and our participation in RADx-UP presents an outstanding opportunity to deliver on this mission. The disproportionality of COVID19 in the US demands that we step forward and offer our expertise in reaching the most vulnerable communities to increase testing.”

The program’s core components will center on community engagement to build robust and sustainable programs that advance COVID-19 testing. Objectives of RADx-UP include:

• Creation of a community-centered, flexible program infrastructure;
• Support of a participatory and inclusive community engagement program;
• Support of research projects through COVID-19 testing guidance and emerging science; and
• Collection, harmonization, integration, and dissemination of data to local and scientific communities.

“Working with our partners and the NIH, we will introduce customized programs that help communities expand testing for their residents, many of whom are being disproportionately impacted by the novel coronavirus,” Cohen-Wolkowiez said. “We are proud to support this national response with innovative clinical research and community-based outreach to help improve outcomes for our most vulnerable patients.”

Racial and ethnic minorities that will be served by the RADx-UP program include African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Latinos/Latinas, and Native Hawaiians.

“Health disparities have always been a critical issue, and today these challenges are amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Corbie-Smith. “Structural inequalities have led to higher rates of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes for racial and ethnic minorities, putting them at increased risk of contracting severe cases of COVID-19. Therefore, we’ve seen both higher infection rates and mortality rates in these communities.”

Also as part of the program, researchers will work to address challenges faced by other underserved and vulnerable populations such as older adults, those who are incarcerated, pregnant women, and those experiencing homelessness.