Reaching the Hispanic community about COVID-19 through existing chronic disease prevention programs

Authors

William A. Calo, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania; Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Andrea Murray, Penn State Cancer Institute, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Erica Francis, Department of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Madeline Bermundez, Department of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Jennifer Kraschnewski, Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-25-2020

Abstract

Publicly available data on racial and ethnic disparities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are now surfacing, and these data suggest that the novel virus has disproportionately sickened Hispanic communities in the United States. We discuss why Hispanic communities are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 and how adaptations were made to existing infrastructure for Penn State Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) and Better Together REACH (a community–academic coalition using grant funds from Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) to address these needs. We also describe programming to support COVID-19 efforts for Hispanic communities by using chronic disease prevention programs and opportunities for replication across the country.

Recommended Citation

Calo WA, Murray A, Francis E, Bermudez M, Kraschnewski J. Reaching the Hispanic Community About COVID-19 Through Existing Chronic Disease Prevention Programs. Prev Chronic Dis 2020;17:200165. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.200165