Testing Communication Concepts on COVID-19 Contact Tracing Among Black and Latinx/Hispanic People in the United States

OBJECTIVE

Black and Latinx/Hispanic people were more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than White people, but because of legacies of discrimination and maltreatment in health care, were less likely to participate in some public health responses to COVID-19, including contact tracing. This study aimed to test three communication campaign concepts to engage Black and Latinx/Hispanic people in contact tracing efforts.

METHODS

Twelve focus group discussions with 5 to 10 participants each were conducted online among participants from Black and Latinx/Hispanic urban populations in Philadelphia and New York state. Participants provided sociodemographic information and were presented with potential campaign concepts and prompted to rate the concepts and engage in open-ended discussion. For rating and sociodemographic data, chi-square tests were performed. For open-ended discussion data, a thematic analysis approach was used.

RESULTS

Across groups, the campaign concept that was rated most likely to encourage cooperation with contact tracing efforts was "Be the One," with 45% of total first-place votes. Participants expressed that the campaign caught their attention (79%), motivated them to engage with contact tracers (71%) and to talk to others about contact tracing (77%). Discussions also elucidated: the importance of community engagement; the need for clearer explanations of contact tracing; the preference for already trusted, community-based contact tracers; the need to reassure people about confidentiality; and for contact tracing to be culturally competent and empathetic.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights how strategic, culturally sensitive communication can buttress current and future contact tracing efforts, especially among Black and Latinx/Hispanic people.