R01MD016328

Vale+Tu Salud: Corner-Based Randomized Trial to Test a Latino Day Laborer Program Adapted to Prevent COVID-19 - Vale+Tu Salud: Corner-Based Randomized Trial to Test a Latino Day Laborer Program Adapted to Prevent COVID-19

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on Latino immigrants, whose members include day laborers. In Texas, addressing COVID-19 is increasingly urgent given the dramatic rise in cases during July 2020. At the time of this application, the state has exceeded its base ICU beds capacity and 65% of COVID-19 hospitalizations are Latino patients.

And in Harris County, the site of this proposed study, Latinos represent the ethnic group with the highest COVID-19 positivity rate (30%) and live in the top 10 ZIP codes with the highest infection rates. Latino day laborers (LDL) are immigrant men from Mexico and Central America who work primarily in the construction and service sectors and are routinely exposed to multiple personal and job-related stressors, where the latter occur in a working context that is dangerous, temporary, poorly paid, and exploitative.

During the current pandemic, these stressors have become more acute and have compelled LDL to continue to seek work daily, live in crowded conditions to afford the rent, and work without needed protections for maintaining social distancing or securing personal protective equipment (PPE). COVID-19 is likely to severely impact LDL unless action is taken to address their stressors and support their efforts to prevent it.

Based on a readily available and portable injury risk-reduction program Vale+Tu (You Are Worth More) that has been successfully tested among LDL, the Vale+Tu Salud (Your Health Is Worth More) study will adapt its evidence-based participant recruitment, engagement, and intervention strategies to promote group problem solving and a plan to implement together COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

Guided by a Community Advisory Board (CAB) and led by LDL promotores, this corner-based program will be tested in a randomized trial to answer this question: Can an adapted Latino day laborer program increase adherence to mitigation practices that reduce the risk of COVID-19? To answer this question, we will pursue these aims:

Aim 1: Determine the cultural, socioeconomic, interpersonal, and work-related factors that influence COVID-19 mitigation practices including social distancing, hand-washing, and PPE use.

Aim 2: Adapt, implement, and test Vale+Tu Salud in a cluster randomized trial to assess the extent to which LDL report increased adherence with COVID-19 mitigation practices 1 month post-intervention.

Aim 3: Promote Vale+Tu Salud just-in-time results and increase its capacity to rapidly disseminate findings among groups that serve LDL and other Latino immigrants.

In the short term, we expect our program to address the urgent need to prevent COVID-19 among LDL by testing its effectiveness in promoting mitigation practices and the COVID-19 vaccine, when it becomes available. Over the longer term, we expect that the lessons learned in this COVID-19 prevention program will transfer to other work and life domains where LDL may adopt similar practices to reduce other health risks.

University Of Texas Health Science Center At Houston

TO SUPPORT BASIC, CLINICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, PROMOTE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAINING, FOSTER EMERGING PROGRAMS, DISSEMINATE INFORMATION, AND REACH OUT TO MINORITY AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITY COMMUNITIES. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES (NIMHD) HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS: (1) THE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE PROGRAM PROMOTES RESEARCH TO IMPROVE MINORITY HEALTH AND/OR REDUCE AND ELIMINATE HEALTH DISPARITIES, BUILDS RESEARCH CAPACITY FOR MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH IN ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF HEALTH DISPARITY GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES IN BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES, AND BRINGS TOGETHER INVESTIGATORS FROM RELEVANT DISCIPLINES IN A MANNER THAT WILL ENHANCE AND EXTEND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR RESEARCH, (2) NIMHD RESEARCH ENDOWMENT PROGRAM BUILDS RESEARCH CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE AT ELIGIBLE NIMHD CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE OR ELIGIBLE SECTION 736 HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOOLS (42 U.S.C. 293) TO FACILITATE MINORITY HEALTH AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH TO CLOSE THE DISPARITY GAP IN THE BURDEN OF ILLNESS AND DEATH EXPERIENCED BY RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITY AMERICANS AND OTHER HEALTH DISPARITY POPULATIONS, PROMOTES A DIVERSE AND STRONG SCIENTIFIC, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING WORKFORCE, AND EMPHASIZES THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES AND OTHER SOCIO-ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED POPULATIONS IN THE FIELDS OF BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND OTHER AREAS OF THE SCIENTIFIC WORKFORCE, (3) THE CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH TO STIMULATE BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES, (4) MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAM (MHIRT) AWARDS ENABLE U.S. INSTITUTIONS TO TAILOR SHORT-TERM BASIC SCIENCE, BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL MENTORED STUDENT INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO ADDRESS GLOBAL ISSUES RELATED TO UNDERSTANDING, REDUCING, AND ELIMINATING HEALTH DISPARITIES, (5) SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM INCREASES PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, ENCOURAGES SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTERS AND ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (6) SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, FOSTERS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, INCREASES PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTERS AND ENCOURAGES PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, (7) HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH PROJECT GRANTS (RPG) SUPPORT INNOVATIVE PROJECTS TO ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS, SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND HEALTH SERVICES THAT CAN DIRECTLY AND DEMONSTRABLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE IMPROVEMENT IN MINORITY HEALTH AND THE ELIMINATION OF HEALTH DISPARITIES WHICH INCLUDES THE (8) RESEARCH CENTERS IN MINORITY INSTITUTIONS (RCMI) BUILD CAPACITY FOR BASIC BIOMEDICAL AND/OR BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH, CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH (RCTR) AND A NETWORK (RCTN) BY FOCUSING ON INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS SUPPORTING CORE RESEARCH FACILITIES AND STAFF, PURCHASING ADVANCED INSTRUMENTATION, AND LABORATORY RENOVATIONS/ALTERATIONS (9) CLINICAL RESEARCH EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT (CRECD) AWARDS PROVIDE DIDACTIC TRAINING AND MENTORED CLINICAL RESEARCH EXPERIENCES TO DEVELOP INDEPENDENT RESEARCHERS WHO CAN LEAD CLINICAL RESEARCH STUDIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE ADDRESSING HEALTH DISPARITIES, (10) PATHWAY TO INDEPENDENCE AWARDS (K99/R00) TO INCREASE AND MAINTAIN A STRONG COHORT OF NEW AND TALENTED, NIH-SUPPORTED, INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS. (11) NIH RESEARCH CONFERENCE GRANT AND NIH RESEARCH CONFERENCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROGRAMS SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY CONFERENCES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, (12) TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE CENTERS FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH COMPRISE REGIONAL COALITIONS OF ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SYSTEMS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS CONDUCTING COORDINATED RESEARCH, IMPLEMENTATION AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES THAT TRANSCEND CUSTOMARY APPROACHES AND SILO ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES TO ADDRESS CRITICAL QUESTIONS AT MULTIPLE LEVELS IN INNOVATIVE WAYS FOCUSED ON PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS IN MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES, (13) RUTH L. KIRSCHSTEIN NRSA INDIVIDUAL PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

93.307 - Minority Health and Health Disparities Research

National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) [HHS - NIH]

Houston, Texas 770303870 United States

Single Zip Code

Community Interventions to Address the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Disparity and Vulnerable Populations (R01- Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-20-237)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 380% from $652,260 to $3,133,782.