eohsi news and announcements

Community-based groups can be more effective than health-care organizations at expanding access to at-home COVID-19 testing in underserved communities, according to a Rutgers study.

In a survey of Black and Latino residents in four New Jersey communities with high rates of COVID-19 infection, community-based organizations (CBOs) – such as human service-focused nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) – were more effective than health-care organizations (HCOs) at increasing awareness of at-home testing availability.

“Although the odds of completing an at-home COVID-19 test were higher for people recruited by HCOs, community-based organizations were significantly more effective at raising awareness of testing opportunities,” said Emily Barrett, an associate professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Rutgers and lead author of the study published in the American Journal of Public Health.