The COVID-19 pandemic has widely affected existing academia-sponsored community service initiatives. Little is known about the strategies to sustain these initiatives during a public health crisis and the potential effects on community well-being and education. In this case study, we describe the impact of the pandemic on service partnerships between our medical school and the Latinx community, discuss the challenges and opportunities of transitioning to a virtual community service model, and offer solutions and considerations.
La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado ampliamente las iniciativas de servicio comunitario existentes y apoyadas por la academia. Poco se sabe acerca de las estrategias para sostener esas iniciativas durante una crisis de salud pública, y los efectos potenciales en el bienestar y educación comunitarios. En este estudio de caso, describimos el impacto de la pandemia en alianzas de servicio entre nuestra escuela de medicina y la comunidad latinx, discutimos los retos y las oportunidades en la transición a una comunidad modelo de servicio virtual, y ofrecemos soluciones y consideraciones.
Keywords: COVID-19; Hispanic; Latino; Latinx; community partnership; community service; medical education; medical students; pandemic; service; underserved populations.
© The Author(s) 2020.