RADx-UP Testing Core: Access to COVID-19 Diagnostics in Community-Engaged Research with Underserved Populations.

Narayanasamy, Shanti

Veldman, Timothy H

Lee, Mark J

Glover, William A

Tillekeratne, L Gayani

Neighbors, Coralei E

Harper, Barrie

Raghavan, Vidya

Kennedy, Scott W

Carper, Miranda

Denny, Thomas

Tsalik, Ephraim L

Reller, Megan E

Kibbe, Warren A

Corbie, Giselle

Cohen-Wolkowiez, Michael

Woods, Christopher W

Petti, Cathy A

Humphries, Romney M

2023-10-18T23:41:29Z

2023-10-18T23:41:29Z

2023-08

2023-10-18T23:41:27Z

Research on the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infection and death among underserved populations and exposed low rates of SARS-CoV-2 testing in these communities. A landmark National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding initiative, the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, was developed to address the research gap in understanding the adoption of COVID-19 testing in underserved populations. This program is the single largest investment in health disparities and community-engaged research in the history of the NIH. The RADx-UP Testing Core (TC) provides community-based investigators with essential scientific expertise and guidance on COVID-19 diagnostics. This commentary describes the first 2 years of the TC's experience, highlighting the challenges faced and insights gained to safely and effectively deploy large-scale diagnostics for community-initiated research in underserved populations during a pandemic. The success of RADx-UP shows that community-based research to increase access and uptake of testing among underserved populations can be accomplished during a pandemic with tools, resources, and multidisciplinary expertise provided by a centralized testing-specific coordinating center. We developed adaptive tools to support individual testing strategies and frameworks for these diverse studies and ensured continuous monitoring of testing strategies and use of study data. In a rapidly evolving setting of tremendous uncertainty, the TC provided essential and real-time technical expertise to support safe, effective, and adaptive testing. The lessons learned go beyond this pandemic and can serve as a framework for rapid deployment of testing in response to future crises, especially when populations are affected inequitably.

0095-1137

1098-660X

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/29282

eng

American Society for Microbiology

Journal of clinical microbiology

10.1128/jcm.00367-23

Humans

Vulnerable Populations

Pandemics

COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2

COVID-19 Testing

RADx-UP Testing Core: Access to COVID-19 Diagnostics in Community-Engaged Research with Underserved Populations.

Journal article

Narayanasamy, Shanti|0000-0002-6667-2868

Tillekeratne, L Gayani|0000-0001-6012-7271

Neighbors, Coralei E|0000-0002-0367-2983

Tsalik, Ephraim L|0000-0002-6417-2042

Kibbe, Warren A|0000-0001-5622-7659

Cohen-Wolkowiez, Michael|0000-0002-2458-2266

Woods, Christopher W|0000-0001-7240-2453

e0036723

8

Duke

School of Medicine

Student

Basic Science Departments

Clinical Science Departments

Institutes and Centers

Biostatistics & Bioinformatics

Medicine

Pathology

Pediatrics

Medicine, Duke Human Vaccine Institute

Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases

Duke Cancer Institute

Duke Clinical Research Institute

Duke Human Vaccine Institute

Institutes and Provost's Academic Units

University Institutes and Centers

Duke Global Health Institute

Population Health Sciences

Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine

Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Division of Translational Biomedical

Published

61