The UArizona Prevention Research Center received a $500K supplemental grant from the CDC to conduct research on more effective COVID-19 vaccine promotion in rural, border and underserved Arizona communities.
The Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) at the Zuckerman College of Public Health (COPH), University of Arizona Health Sciences (UAHS) received a supplemental grant award of $500 thousand for one year from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to identify key behavioral insights that will inform solutions to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines among rural, border and underserved Arizona communities and increase vaccine uptake.
As COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out, high uptake of the vaccines will be vital to reduce the burden of disease and control the pandemic. This project joins together the CDC’s Connecting Behavioral Science program with the COVID-19 Vaccine Demand (CBS-CVD) Network. The newly funded AzPRC project will 1) Conduct listening sessions with AzPRC’s Community Action Board members and other key stakeholders to validate barriers to vaccine uptake, and to identify solutions that will increase vaccine uptake and 2) Support the Mobile Health Units (MHUs) vaccination project at the Zuckerman College of Public Health to increase vaccine confidence, evaluate barriers, and identify facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination. Guided by the leadership of Associate Dean Dr. Cecilia Rosales, the MHUs vaccination program works to increase COVID-19 vaccination uptake among rural, uninsured, and farmworker populations in Southern Arizona.
The UArizona effort is led by Supplement PI and AzPRC Co-Investigator Dr. Tomas Nuño, AzPRC Co-Director Maia Ingram, AzPRC Principal Investigators Drs. Scott Carvajal and Ada Wilkinson-Lee, AzPRC Co-Investigator Jill Guernsey de Zapien, and MEZCOPH Associate Dean and AzPRC Co-Investigator Dr. Cecilia Rosales. .
Media Contact:
Shipherd Reed
520-626-9669
shipherd@email.arizona.edu
About the Arizona Prevention Research Center
The mission of the Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) is to partner with communities to improve the health and well-being of people living in the U.S.-Mexico Border states through research, training, advocacy and policy change. The AzPRC houses diverse programs and activities that use community-based participatory action research to focus on the prevention of chronic disease in the border region. The philosophy of the AzPRC is that improving health outcomes requires a collaborative partnership between universities and communities.
Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Established in 2000, the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona Health Sciences delivers education and research that builds healthier communities locally, nationally, and globally. The only nationally accredited college of public health in Arizona, with campuses in Tucson and Phoenix, the college enrolls hundreds of students per year across degree programs at the bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctoral levels. A leader in public health research and promotion, the College receives significant federal grant funding. Through research, education and community engagement, the Zuckerman College of Public Health continues to find solutions to public health challenges across the state and around the world. For more information: publichealth.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter).
