Abstract

The Georgia Community Engaged Alliance Against COVID-19 Disparities: Community-driven pillars, processes and predictors of vaccination uptake among black and Hispanic/Latino(a) residents.

Tabia Akintobi, PhD, MPH¹, Robert Bednarczyk, PhD², Sedessie Spivey, DBA, MS³, Katherine Lovell⁴, Mohamed Mubasher, PhD⁵, Rakale Quarells, PhD¹, Saadia Khizer¹, Lilly Immergluck, M.S, M.D, FAAP¹, Virginia Floyd, MD, MPH¹, Gail McCray, MA, MCHES⁵, Christina Evans, MPH⁶, Michelle Nwagwu, MPH¹, Claudia E Ordóñez⁷, Gaelle Sabben, MPH⁸, Kate Winskell, PhD², Unjali Gujral, PhD, MPH⁸, Saundra Latimer, MPH⁹, Michael L. Best, PhD¹⁰, Amy Z. Chen¹⁰, KM Venkat Narayan, MD, MSC, MBA⁸, John Blevin, Th.D, M. Div⁸, Shirley Borghi¹¹, Michael Armstrong, PhD¹², Cheryl Gaddis, DrPH, MPH, CHES¹³ and Leslie S. Craig, PhD, MPH¹⁴
(1)Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, (2)Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA, (3)DeKalb Public Health, Decatur, GA, Loganville, GA, (4)Southside Medical Center, Atlanta, GA, (5)Atlanta, GA, (6)Morehouse School of Medicine | Innovation Learning Laboratory for Population Health, Atlanta, GA, (7)Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, (8)Emory University, Atlanta, GA, (9)DeKalb County Board of Health, Decatur, GA, (10)Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, (11)Alpharetta, GA, (12)The Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential, Atlanta, GA, (13)McDonough, GA, (14)Christ Church, Barbados

APHA 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed striking morbidity and mortality disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations who have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by COVID-19 in Georgia and nationwide. These realities underscored the urgency and need for multipronged, community-engaged strategies to reduce these inequities, particularly in Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino(a) (hereafter Black and Latinx) communities in Georgia. This report details the community-engaged model, processes and data leveraged to center a Community Coalition Board (CCB) in the conduct of research to co-create locally relevant action strategies and increase vaccine confidence and uptake among Black and Latinx Georgians disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Methods: The Georgia CEAL CCB provided guidance on mixed methods data collection including: two cross-sectional surveys administered and interviews/focus groups informing social media monitoring and public health outreach.

Results: Among 4,540 survey respondents, those significantly more likely to take a COVID-19 test were employed (p-value= 0.0002), had a college degree or higher education (p-value <0.0001), or trusted federal health authorities (p-value= 0.0435). Latinx or Non-Latinx Black were 50% less likely than Latinx White respondents to get vaccinated or tested (p-value <0.0001). Those 18-30 years old were 45% less likely to get vaccinated than those 40 years of age or older (p-value <0.0001). Qualitative findings highlighted historical, sociocultural and health equity factors driving vaccination decision-making. Findings also highlighted the role of trusted community messengers to combat widespread misinformation, address deep-rooted mistrust and support community outreach efforts.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a watershed moment where data is being leveraged by communities and researchers to reprioritize and sustain community-engaged research advancing health equity in Georgia.

Public health implications: The implications for public health practice showed that although underserved groups often share similar needs, they also have key differences in experiences and perceptions that create very specific needs.

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs Communication and informatics Program planning Public health or related research