A Community-Based Approach to Pandemic Preparedness and Response
The need to strengthen our health systems and protect society’s most vulnerable communities and populations is magnified during an infectious disease outbreak. The capacity of communities of low- and middle-income areas of the world’s ability to protect themselves against and to manage such threats is only as strong as the reach of physical resources and trusted, evidence-based messaging. CEID’s work seeks to understand what communities value during public health crises and how they access information and resources. Our aim is to improve community resilience through engagement of local leaders, bridging gaps between traditional health systems and community partners, and addressing the unique needs of the most vulnerable in our communities — with attention to frontline workers — so as to increase pandemic preparedness.
Our Current Work In This Space:
RECOVER Long COVID Study
Overview
CEID Founding Director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia and CEID Core Faculty Dr. Jai Marathe serve as Co-Principal Investigators of the
RECOVER (Research COVID to Enhance Recovery) study at Boston Medical Center (BMC). This study is part of a national cohort funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the goal of fully understanding the condition referred to as “post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2” (PASC), or “long COVID.”
CEID Project Faculty & Collaborators
- Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MALD, Founding Director, CEID
- Jai Marathe, MD, MS, Instructor of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine
- Caitryn McCallum, MPH, Director of Research & Partnerships, CEID
Additional Information
The Infection Prevention-Based After-Action Review of COVID-19: The Boston-area Black and Latinx community Perspective (AABL Study)
Overview
How can we evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities’ resources and treatment access and availability so that long-tail recovery informs preparedness strategies for the next pandemic? We are interested in strengthening resilience for pandemic preparedness with a community-based approach. CEID has awarded Dr. Cassandra Pierre and Dr. Nina Mazar (CEID Faculty) a seed grant to conduct an After-Action Review of COVID-19 in Black and Latinx communities of Boston.
The Infection Prevention-Based After-Action Review (AAR) of COVID-19: The Boston-area Black and Latinx community Perspective (AABL Study) intends to carry out an after-action to build resilience among communities of color – notably most disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 – for future emerging infectious disease threats.
This grant explores communication strategies (messaging and language) to determine the identities of trusted messengers (organizations and individuals) that had the greatest impact in effectively transmitting infection prevention-related knowledge from pandemic onset, to today, and for the future. This research will ask trusted messengers who agree to provide their insight, via surveys conducted via zoom. These surveys will help us understand how community leaders understand their constituents learned of: COVID-19 transmission and risk; adherence to protective measures and behavior; public messaging; vaccines and therapeutics.
This seed grant seeks to understand:
- Who conveyed the information that community members relied on throughout the course of the pandemic? Were these trusted messengers effective in conveying this?
- How community leaders and trusted messengers effectively conveyed information: what worked? What didn’t work, and why?
- Implementation within Boston-area Black and Latinx communities (including modeling of ideas and messages)
- What did failures in effective outreach and implementation cost to members of the communities that these trusted leaders serve?
Project Faculty & Collaborators
- Cassandra Pierre, MPH, MD, Assistant Professor, BU School of Medicine
- Nina Mazar, PhD, Professor of Marketing, BU Questrom School of Business
- Caitryn McCallum, MPH, Director of Research & Partnerships, CEID
Student Researchers
- DeYante Prince, MPH Candidate, Boston University School of Public Health
- Arianna Rahimian, MPH Candidate, Boston University School of Public Health
Other Related Resources
Related Events
Related CEID Faculty Publications