Bearing a higher burden: Black and Latinx community perspectives on the Impact of COVID-19

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: During earlier periods of the pandemic, Black and Latinx populations in Michigan have suffered higher rates of infection, hospitalization, and deaths when compared to Whites. We conducted this study to understand how Black and Latinx residents perceived this disproportionate burden. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: In 2021, 40 semi-structured interviews were conducted virtually in English or Spanish with Black (n=24) and Latinx (n=16) residents in Michigan areas highly impacted by COVID-19: Genesee, Kent, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. Using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach, we partnered with leaders from 15 community-based organizations and health and human service agencies to develop research questions, an interview protocol, and to interpret the data. We used the data analysis software Dedoose (ver 4.12) for inductive coding (IRR=0.81). This study is a part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 initiative. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Participants described the significant impact of the pandemic in terms of physical and mental health, job security, and the sheer number of deaths among loved ones. They attributed the impact to comorbidities and social determinants of health disparities exacerbated by the pandemic, including income, housing, access to healthcare, as well as systemic racism. They noted being overrepresented among frontline workers with higher exposure to COVID-19, limited or misinformation about the virus, language barriers, and difficulty with social distancing. Cultural norms that promote being in close proximity, such as intergenerational households, and loss of trusted community leaders were also noted. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Findings reflect the needs of Black and Latinx community members in Michigan and the discussions they feel are important to highlight. We must work strategically with partners and the community to provide transparency and effective leadership, and prioritize addressing systemic disparities in SDoH.

Black and Latino Perspectives on COVID-19 Vaccines: A Mixed-methods Examination

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: COVID-19 vaccines were met with both public excitement and concern. Our goal was to understand individual's attitudes about COVID-19 vaccines within Black and Latino communities deeply impacted by COVID-19, in an effort to highlight their potential similarities and differences. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Using a community-based participatory approach, we partnered with 16 leaders from community-based organizations to conduct a mixed-methods study examining the perspectives of Black and Latino communities regarding their vaccine acceptance or hesitancy. We focused on Michigan counties highly impacted by COVID-19 infection and deaths. In 2021, we interviewed 24 Black and 16 Latino residents in English or Spanish. We combined this with survey data on vaccine attitudes and behavior from the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (n=1,800). This research is part of the NIH Community Engagement Alliance Against COVID-19. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Qualitative and quantitative analysis highlight that Black participants expressed greater mistrust and hesitance around vaccines and less willingness to get vaccinated, often citing historical mistreatment as a contributing factor. The desire to keep themselves, their families and community safe was cited as the most important factor shaping vaccine decisions among both groups. Trust in information and in science was rated as a stronger reason for vaccination among Latinx participants;however, they also appeared to highlight the issue of vaccine access more often than Black participants. Fear of side effects and risks were equally cited as factors that influenced their vaccine hesitancy. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Despite being labeled as minority communities, these two groups have important differences regarding their perspective of COVID-19 vaccines. Our results suggest that public health interventions must be tailored to address the concerns, differences in attitudes, and beliefs among Blacks and Latinos.

Understanding the utility of an evaluation instrument and a feedback mechanism in community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To examine i) how longstanding (≥6 years) community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships nationwide implemented a validated questionnaire to measure success and its contributing factors and ii) how the CBPR partnerships utilized and applied a feedback mechanism, or reports of findings from the questionnaire and a facilitation guide METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: This mixed methods study builds upon a larger NIH-funded project entitled 'Measurement Approaches to Partnership Success (MAPS). MAPS developed and validated the 109-item MAPS questionnaire to measure success in longstanding (≥6 years) CBPR partnerships. In 2020, 55 CBPR partnerships nationwide completed the MAPS Questionnaire and, a year later, received the MAPS Feedback Mechanism, consisting of questionnaire findings and a facilitation guide on how to present the findings. In this follow-up study, we administered multi-method surveys to each partnership contact person in 2022 to examine their experience with and utility of the MAPS Questionnaire and the MAPS Feedback mechanism. We performed descriptive analysis of quantitative responses using SAS and thematic analysis of qualitative responses. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Survey responses have been presently collected from 14 partnerships. Preliminary findings suggest that the most frequently reported benefits of completing the MAPS Questionnaire included stimulating partnership reflections and ease of completion. Many partnerships shared results of the MAPS Questionnaire by e-mail or during partnership meetings. Nearly half of the partnerships rated components of the MAPS feedback mechanism as useful. Over one-third of the partnerships reported that the COVID pandemic limited their capacity to engage with the MAPS Feedback Mechanism. Key qualitative suggestions included making the MAPS Questionnaire shorter, providing it in a different format, and offering additional facilitation to support the implementation of the MAPS Feedback Mechanism. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study examines how CBPR partnerships utilize an evaluation instrument and apply results on success. Current findings suggest potential utility of the MAPS Questionnaire and Feedback Mechanism for ongoing evaluation. Reducing the questionnaire length and providing facilitation resources may enhance implementation across diverse settings.

Moving health education and behavior upstream: Lessons from COVID-19 for addressing structural drivers of health inequities

In this Perspective, we build on social justice and emancipatory traditions within the field of health education, and the field's long-standing commitment to building knowledge and shared power to promote health equity, to examine lessons and opportunities for health education emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining patterns that emerged as the pandemic unfolded in Metropolitan Detroit, with disproportionate impacts on African American and low-income communities, we consider conditions that contributed to excess exposure, mortality, and reduced access to critical health protective resources. Using a life course framework, we consider enduring impacts of the pandemic for health equity. Finally, we suggest several strategic actions in three focal areas-environment, occupation, and housing-that can be taken by health educators working in partnership with community members, researchers, and decision makers, using, for example, a community-based participatory research approach, to reduce adverse impacts of COVID-19 and promote long-term equity in health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Integrating Public Health Research and Teaching With Social Justice Activism: Lessons From 80 Years of Practice.

In this commentary, we reflect on the lessons we have learned from our successes and failures in aligning the roles of scholars and activists. Our hope is to provide insights that can guide public health students, faculty, practitioners, and activists seeking to chart their professional, political, and personal futures in today's polarized and catastrophe-burdened world. Several experiences motivate us to write this commentary now. In the last few years, inspired in part by the new activism against systemic racism sparked by the murder of George Floyd and others, growing climate emergencies, the COVID pandemic, anti-immigrant politics, increasing anti-Asian acts of violence, gun bloodshed, attacks on the right to reproductive and sexual health, resurgence of interest in worker organizing, and the ongoing quest for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTQI+) rights, we are impressed by the number of young people engaged in activism to defend and expand their rights and show that another world is possible.