Grassroots and Digital Outreach Strategies Raise Awareness of COVID-19 Information and Research in Baltimore City

Hailey N Miller; Sarah C Stevens; Donald Young; Cyd T Lacanienta; Tosin Tomiwa; Monica Guerrero Vazquez; Wura Olawole; Trinity Zhu; Cassie Lewis-Land; Roger Clark; Anna Peeler; Samuel Byiringiro; Brittany Cook; Christine Weston; Yvonne Bronner; Tim Rich; Cheryl R Himmelfarb

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307492

Grassroots and Digital Outreach Strategies Raise Awareness of COVID-19 Information and Research in Baltimore City

Am J Public Health. 2024 Jan;114(S1):S69-S73. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307492.

Authors

Hailey N Miller¹, Sarah C Stevens¹, Donald Young¹, Cyd T Lacanienta¹, Tosin Tomiwa¹, Monica Guerrero Vazquez¹, Wura Olawole¹, Trinity Zhu¹, Cassie Lewis-Land¹, Roger Clark¹, Anna Peeler¹, Samuel Byiringiro¹, Brittany Cook¹, Christine Weston¹, Yvonne Bronner¹, Tim Rich¹, Cheryl R Himmelfarb¹

Affiliation

¹ Hailey N. Miller, Donald Young, Wura Olawole, Trinity Zhu, Samuel Byiringiro, Brittany Cook, and Cheryl R. Himmelfarb are with the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. Sarah C. Stevens, Cyd T. Lacanienta, Tosin Tomiwa, Cassie Lewis-Land, and Anna Peeler are with the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Johns Hopkins University. Monica Guerrero Vazquez is with Centro SOL, Baltimore, MD. Roger Clark is with the Community Research Advisory Council, Johns Hopkins University. Christine Weston is with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University. Yvonne Bronner is with the Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy, Baltimore, MD. Tim Rich is with Reaching Innocent Children Hearts Foundation, Baltimore, MD.

Abstract

We aimed to disseminate reliable COVID-19 information to the Black and Latino communities of Baltimore City, Maryland, between July 2020 and December 2022. With community partners, we disseminated evidence-based COVID-19 information via grassroots and digital strategies, including Hopkins Opportunity for Participant Engagement, and connected volunteers to COVID-19 research. Using a multimodal approach facilitated dissemination of reliable information and raised awareness of research; evaluation of trust is ongoing. Robust, multimodal strategies are needed to foster trust and equity among diverse communities. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S1):S69-S73. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307492).

MeSH terms

Baltimore
Black or African American
COVID-19*
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Information Dissemination*
Trust

Grants and funding

UL1 TR003098/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States