The Arizona Center for Rural Health https://crh.arizona.edu received $8.1 million from CDC to address COVID-19 disparities. The plan is to improve the delivery of vaccinations, testing, and information, plus build on relationships with health providers in rural and underserved communities.in Arizona.
The two year grant from CDC through the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is part of the ADHS-CDC National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Disparities Among Population at High Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities.
The Center for Rural Health will focus on:
- Expanding existing or developing new mitigation and prevention resources and services to reduce COVID-19 related disparities among underserved and high risk populations
- Mobilizing partners to advance health equity and address the SDoH related to COVID-19 health disparities among higher risk and underserved populations
The Center for Rural Health will work closely with the Mobile Outreach Vaccine Education for Underserved Populations (MOVE UP) Program and the Advancing Health Equity Addressing Disparities in Arizona (AHEAD) Program. MOVE UP sends mobile health units to underserved urban and rural communities to give vaccine shots and information, while AHEAD enlists and trains local vaccine advocates.
The Center for Rural Health will also use the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Program to deliver targeted messaging to county and tribal health departments.
Other collaborations with the Arizona Medical-Assistance Mentors program and the Arizona Telemedicine Program https://telemedicine.arizona.edu will help improve access to testing and vaccinations and further support targeted messaging on COVID-19 prevention and mitigation.