a. The surge of COVID-19 cases has been accompanied by glaring racial disparities in COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality; disparities in outcomes have been most pronounced for African Americans who, despite comprising only 13% of the US population account for about 30% of all COVID-19 cases in states for which race-related data are reported. Infectious disease modelers, epidemiologists, and other public health experts believe that COVID-19 is here to stay and suggest that annual surges may persist through 2025 and beyond. With vaccine hesitancy and delay compromising our ability to attain herd immunity, the best means for controlling the spread of COVID-19 according to public health experts is mass adoption of the 3 Ws (Wear a mask, Wait 6 feet apart, and Wash your hands) and increasing awareness of one's status through testing. As such, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are currently our best options for viral control and containment. NPIs that are community-driven and developed in collaboration with diverse partners, including community members, public health agencies, and researchers may offer an acceptable and effective approach to reducing COVID-19 transmission and addressing individual and socio-structural barriers that lead to worse COVID-19-related outcomes among African Americans. Our study goals are to use a crowdsourcing open call to identify exceptional ideas (e.g., messages, videos, communication and dissemination strategies) that promote COVID-19 testing and encourage the public to practice the 3 Ws, referred to as health-promotive behaviors.
This study evaluates the impact of an intervention to increase COVID-19 prevention behaviors, including COVID-19 testing. The intervention will be developed through a crowdsourcing contest.