Experiences of Health Departments on Community Engagement and Implementation of a COVID-19 Self-testing Program

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Public Health Manag Pract
• Personal Author:
  Lane-Barlow, Christi ; Thomas, Isabel ; Horter, Libby ; Green, Jamilla ; Byrkit, Ramona ; Juluru, Krishna ; Weitz, Andrew ; Ricaldi, Jessica N. ; Fleurence, Rachael ; Valencia, Diana
• Description:
  Context
  
  Health departments (HDs) work on the front lines to ensure the health of their communities, providing a unique perspective to public health response activities. Say Yes! COVID Test (SYCT) is a U.S. federally funded program providing free COVID-19 self-tests to communities with high COVID-19 transmission, low vaccination rates, and high social vulnerability. The collaboration with nine HDs, was key for the program distribution of 5.8 million COVID-19 self-tests between March 31–November 30, 2021.
  
  Objective
  
  The objective of this study is to gather qualitative in-depth information on the experiences of HDs with the SYCT program to better understand the successes and barriers to implementing community-focused self-testing programs.
  
  Design
  
  Key informant (KI) interviews
  
  Setting
  
  Online interviews conducted between November–December 2021.
  
  Participants
  
  Sixteen program leads representing nine HDs were purposefully sampled as KIs. KIs completed 60-minute structured interviews conducted by one trained facilitator and recorded.
  
  Main Outcome Measures
  
  Key themes and lessons learned were identified using grounded theory.
  
  Results
  
  Based on perceptions of KIs, HDs that maximized community partnerships for test distribution were more certain that populations at higher risk for COVID-19 were reached. Where the HD relied predominantly on direct-to-consumer distribution, KIs were less certain that communities with higher risk were served. Privacy and anonymity in testing were themes linked to higher perceived community acceptance. KIs reported that self-test demand and distribution levels increased during higher COVID-19 transmission levels.
  
  Conclusion
  
  HDs that build bridges and engage with community partners and trusted leaders are better prepared to identify and link high-risk populations with health services and resources. When collaborating with trusted community organizations, KIs perceived that the SYCT program overcame barriers such as mistrust of government intervention and desire for privacy, and motivated community members to utilize this resource to protect themselves against COVID-19.
  
  
• Keywords:
  Community Partners COVID-19 COVID-19 Self-test COVID-19 Testing Grounded Theory Humans Local Health Departments Public Health Qualitative Study Self-Testing Social Vulnerability

  More +
• Source:
  J Public Health Manag Pract. 29(4):539-546
• Pubmed ID:
  36729971
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC10198798
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:1d541ef5abfeba5676bf7dd7369f2d7d5930f99d5877eb5027ab89fab886b4fb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/128674/cdc_128674_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 629.73 KB ]