In a new policy paper from the RADx-UP CDCC Community Engagement Core team, researchers from the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, UNC Center for Health Equity Research, and Duke Clinical Research Institutes propose a policy framework for community-based COVID-19 testing to ensure all populations are protected during the pandemic. The framework links mechanisms to address health inequities in COVID-19 outcomes with policy solutions that remediate structural inequities.
Key policy levers include access, resource allocation, data, communication, and payment, as well as foundational components including community engagement, cross-sector partnership, and regulatory guidance. The paper highlights case examples from the RADx-UP Initiative to illustrate strategies that can close COVID-19 testing equity gaps. Lessons learned from RADx-UP provide important implications for policy directions as new COVID-19 variants emerge and efforts to keep all populations protected.
The report’s co-authors include CHER researchers:
Gretchen Mason, MPH, Project Coordinator and Social Research Specialist
Ethan Phillips, BSPH candidate, Research Assistant
Gabrielle Harris Walker, PhD, MSN, RN, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Giselle Corbie, MD, MSc, Director
Read the policy paper: Scaling Up Equitable Access to Community-Based COVID-19 Testing.