NH75OT000085

Puerto Rico National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities - Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected populations placed at higher risk and who are medically underserved, including minority groups and people living in rural communities who are at higher risk of exposure, infection, hospitalization, and mortality.

The data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed Puerto Rico has a population of 98.7% Hispanic or Latino, with 43.9% living in poverty. The U.S. Census 2019 population estimates indicate that older adults in Puerto Rico represent nearly 23% of the population. If this distribution were similar in the 2020 Census, this would represent an equivalent of almost 800,000 people. These population characteristics increase disparities among high-risk groups and minorities.

The goal of the project is to scale up testing and contact tracing in underserved populations at higher risk, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities, to ensure early identification of cases and to initiate prevention and control measures, thereby reducing further COVID-19 transmission.

The scope of the project includes supporting COVID-19 screening testing in the elderly population, developing health education and prevention campaigns (community outreach), establishing a health equity quality improvement committee to address gaps in Puerto Rico's COVID-19 data collection tools and processes, and creating a multidisciplinary work group to address COVID-19 disparities in public health policies, plans, and guidelines.

The desired outcomes of the project are as follows:
- Increase testing capacity and testing for COVID-19
- Increase contact tracing capacity and resources in coordination with local health providers to impact underserved populations
- Improve access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers participating in community screening events
- Increase testing capacity in the 65 years or older population
- Provide health and education to the incarcerated population
- Create infrastructure to provide access to mental health services
- Develop and increase evidence-based educational resources aimed at COVID-19 prevention
- Expand and modernize case investigation instruments for the construction of socioeconomic profiles that facilitate a more robust characterization of COVID-19 disparities in Puerto Rico
- Fortify the private sector epidemiological compliance and notification program in service of non-health-related essential workers in continued operation.

Department Of Health

NOT APPLICABLE

93.354 - Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response

CDC Office of Financial Resources (OFR) [HHS - CDC]

Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) [HHS - CDC]

San Juan Zona Urbana, Puerto Rico United States

City-Wide

National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities (CDC-RFA-OT21-2103)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 05/31/23 to 03/24/25 and the total obligations have decreased 11% from $10,162,773 to $9,067,546.