A Community-Led Approach to Enhance COVID-19 Testing Among Vulnerable Latinos

Latinos are among the most heavily impacted communities by the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, with more
than 3 times higher rate than non-Hispanic whites. To address this disparity, this team of investigators and community
partners has established a multi-pronged approach that leverages the skill set of trusted bilingual/bicultural peer
navigators (or promotoras) to address social determinants of health (SDOH) that create barriers to testing (such as lack
of insurance, immigration status, stigmatization or loss of job/ income), and to expand access to free COVID-19 testing
in community settings. Our preliminary findings show that leveraging the promotora model for timely delivery of results
(within 48 hours), paired with rapid linkage of COVID-19 positive patients to critical services (including clinical
follow-up, food delivery, cash assistance, and/or isolation hotel), and referral of contacts for testing, increased
acceptability and uptake of COVID-19 testing in a heavily impacted Latino community. The overall goal of this Phase I
Testing Research Project called Juntos (Together) is to work closely with our community partners to systematically evaluate and refine current COVID-19 testing strategies, and to implement and evaluate innovative customized