The University of Washington Population Health Initiative has awarded COVID-19 population health equity research grants to six projects involving partnerships between UW School of Public Health researchers and community leaders. These awards are intended to support collaborations with communities of color – which are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic – to develop COVID-19 research projects that address community-identified needs.

In all, 14 different teams of UW faculty researchers and community leaders were awarded COVID-19 population health equity research grants. The grants awarded by the initiative were partially matched by additional school, college, departmental and external funds, bringing the total value of these awards to approximately $378,000.

The projects involving faculty, staff and students in the School are:

Developing Planning and Implementation Strategies to promote Community-Based Organizations as Public Health Liaisons and Critical Service Providers in the Era of COVID-19 

• Edmund Seto, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health
• Deric Gruen, MPA, Co-Executive Director, Programs & Policy, Front and Centered
• Aurora Martin, JD, Co-Executive Director, Capacity Building, Front and Centered
• Esther Min, PhD, Research Consultant, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health

COVID-19 Food Access among American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes in Washington State: The Value of Food Sovereignty

• Jennifer Otten, Associate Professor, Department of Environment & Occupational Health Sciences and Food Systems Director, Center for Public Health Nutrition, UW School of Public Health
• Victoria Warren-Mears, Director, Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
• Nora Frank-Buckner, Food Sovereignty Initiatives Director, Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
• Brinda Sivaramakrishnan, Professor, Tacoma Community College
• Laura Lewis, Associate Professor, Community and Economic Development, Washington State University
• Adam Drewnowski, Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Director, Center for Public Health Nutrition, UW School of Public Health

Community-Driven Approaches to Identify Barriers to Food Security Due to COVID-19 and Solutions to Improve Food Security and Resilience in Agricultural Communities

• June Spector, Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Director, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, UW
• Elizabeth Torres, Coordinator, El Proyecto Bienestar and Northwest Communities Education Center and Radio KDNA
• Jennifer Krenz, Research Coordinator, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health
• Maria Blancas, Graduate Student, Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment; Outreach and Education Specialist, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (PNASH)
• Jennifer Otten, Associate Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health
• Sarah Collier, Assistant Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health
• Yona Sipos, Lecturer, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health
• Edward Kasner, Clinical Assistant Professor, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Outreach Director, PNASH

Understanding and Addressing Barriers to COVID-19 Testing in the Somali Community in King County, Washington: A Community-Driven Strategy

• Keshet Ronen, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health, Schools of Public Health and Medicine
• Ahmed Ali, Executive Director, Somali Health Board
• Farah Mohamed, Board Vice-President, Somali Health Board
• Anisa Ibrahim, Board President, Somali Health Board; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Harborview Pediatric Clinic Medical Director
• Asiya Ahmed, Undergraduate student, Medical Anthropology and Global Health, College of Arts & Sciences
• Kathleen West, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Global Health, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, and Research Scientist, Department of Bioethics & Humanities, School of Medicine

Healing Heart and Soul: Decreasing COVID-19 Perinatal Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities through Home-Based Maternal Self-Monitoring and Self-Reporting of Blood Pressure, Stress and Depression

• James Pfeiffer, Professor, Department of Global Health, Schools of Public Health and Medicine
• Yvonne Griffin, Director of Midwifery, Neighborcare Health
• Rachel Chapman, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences
• Amelia Gavin, Associate Professor, School of Social Work

COVID-19 and Civil Domestic Violence Protection Orders in King County: Implications for Population Health and Justice Equity

• Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
• Kimberly A. Morrill, Lead Legal Advocate, New Beginnings
  Deirdre Bowen, Associate Professor of Law, Seattle University
• David Martin, Domestic Violence Unit Supervisor, King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office
• Alexandra Burton, Domestic Violence Staff Attorney, Eastside Legal Assistance Program
• Judy Lin, Senior Managing Attorney, Family Law Pro Bono Programs, King County Bar Association
• Adrian Dominguez, Director of Research and Epidemiology, Urban Indian Health Institute
• Avanti Adhia, Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
• Megan Moore, Associate Professor, School of Social Work
• Kimberly Dalve, Doctoral Student, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health