Impact of shifting engagement strategies during COVID: Are rural counties on equal footage? The Ohio HEALing Communities Study (HCS)

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES/GOALS This study examines the impact of COVID restrictions on the process of engagement in the Ohio-HCS site. The goals are to examine the impact of COVID restrictions on the process of engagement;2) determine differences in process measures by geographic region (rural, urban). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION Engagement activities collected as part of the Ohio HCS include an engagement log, coalition meeting type and attendance, tracker of implementation strategies. Study period January 2020 to October 31, 2021. Measures are defined below. Meeting occurrence, type by month Data report on whether a meeting occurred, was scheduled and cancelled, or a scheduled off-month. The meeting platform was also recorded (in-person, hybrid, virtual). Coalition meeting attendance by month Number of community members in attendance. Engagement communications by type, by month Counts and percent (types email, calls, zoom, or in person). Evidence-Based Practices(EBP) delivery option in person, virtual, or hybrid. Counties 9 Ohio counties, 5 rural, 4 urban. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Coalition meetings were cancelled in 40% of rural counties;none in the urban counties. Two rural counties switched back to in person or hybrid meetings by late 2020;urban counties remain 100% virtual. Rural counties had a drop-off in attendance in June 2021 with no decrease seen in urban counties. During first two months of 2020 engagement in rural and urban communities occurred in person;by March that shifted to 80% by email, which continued within rural counties. In urban counties that dropped to 50% by August of 2020, with zoom calls accounting for 30%. In-person strategies for naloxone distribution remained high in both county types (90%);urban counties use of in-person only strategies for medication for OUD (rural 83%, urban 52%) and safer prescribing (rural74%, urban10%) were much lower than rural counties. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Results show that rural counties continue to rely on in person engagement strategies, making COVID restrictions more disruptive for rural counties. These results suggest that new supports and strategies may be needed to assure that rural regions are equally equipped to engage in research in a virtual environment.