Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04878328

Leveraging CHWs to Improve COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Among CJIs Accessing a Corrections-focused CBO

Given the likelihood of COVID-19 remaining an endemic disease among high-risk populations, establishing effective mitigation interventions will be critical to stemming community transmission. Criminal justice-involved individuals are extremely important to reducing community-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to their increased risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 while incarcerated and their likelihood of living in congregate settings after incarceration. The investigators will evaluate an onsite Point-of-Care SARS-CoV-2 testing and education strategy in a corrections-focused community-based organization and its impact on improving testing uptake, mitigation behaviors(e.g. mask wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing, vaccine uptake when available), and cost-effectiveness.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Covid19 COVID-19 Coronaviridae Infections Coronavirus Infections Infections Lung Diseases Nidovirales Infections Pneumonia Pneumonia, Viral RNA Virus Infections Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Infections Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Fortune Society, Long Island City, New York, United States

Loading trial locations.

About this study

The United States(U.S.) has experienced higher mortality than any other nation due to COVID-19 with nearly 13.5 million cases and over 268,103 deaths. Due to the limited ability to socially distance, poor ventilation, and limited hygiene supplies, U.S. prisons and jails have observed explosive transmission of SARS-CoV-2 accounting for the 10 largest U.S. outbreaks. Because 95% of criminal justice-involved individuals reenter societyCOVID-19 transmission extends beyond those who are currently incarcerated. As justice-involved individuals reenter the community, they face high rates of homelessness, and many others live in other congregate settings such as converted hotels and halfway houses. The increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 while incarcerated coupled with the likelihood of living in congregate settings after incarceration, create conditions ripe for rapid COVID-19 transmission that will be critical to address in order to gain control of COVID-19 in the U.S. The goal of this study is to test the impact and cost-effectiveness of an intervention to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission among justice-involved individuals recently released from incarceration. The investigators will conduct a randomized trial to compare the effectiveness of an onsite Point-of-Care SARS-CoV-2 testing and education intervention with community health workers (CHWs) as a central component compared to the standard of care at a community-based organization (CBO) that provides services to justice-involved individuals in New York City. The investigators will measure costs of testing, education, and navigation, and explore the cost-effectiveness of the onsite Point-of-Care intervention compared to the standard of care. The specific aims are to:1) Test the effectiveness of an onsite PoC SARS-CoV-2 intervention in a corrections-focused CBO; 2) Model the cost-effectiveness of an onsite PoC SARS-CoV-2 intervention among CJIs compared to SoC. Because testing, education, and navigation will be provided by CHWs in a culturally-sensitive environment and test results will be received in minutes (rather than days), the investigators hypothesize that O-PoC will be associated with improved testing uptake and receipt of test results, mitigation behaviors (mask wearing, hand hygiene, social distancing), and those who attend more O-PoC sessions will have better adherence to mitigation behaviors.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Fortune Society clients
  • Greater than or equal to 18 years old
  • Fluent in English or Spanish
  • Resident of NYC
  • Released from a jail or a prison system within 90 days

Exclusion criteria

  • Inability to provide informed consent
  • Inability to complete study visits over 12 months
  • Does not plan to reside in the NYC area for the next year
  • Terminal illness

Treatment and study plan

Onsite Point-of-care

Behavioral

Guided by Social Cognitive Theory, O-PoC will employ CHWs with lived experience of incarceration to provide: 1) COVID-19 education; 2) SARS-CoV-2 testing with Cepheid XpertXpress PCR tests at Fortune facilities; 3) Needs assessments and facilitated access to masks and hygiene supplies; 4) Navigation to vaccination sites (when available) and single-room housing at Fortune's supportive housing sites and partnering shelters, or alternative strategies that will maximize the ability to socially distance for those who test PCR positive; 5) Supportive counseling.

Primary outcomes

  1. Testing Uptake

    Time frame: Up to 12 months

    Testing uptake will be defined as the number and percentage of participants who had tests performed and will be determined using program logs and healthcare record extraction. To measure testing uptake, a dichotomous outcome of having at least one complete SARS-CoV-2 test over the 12-month study period, defined as having a test performed with results received by participants within two weeks of the test being conducted, was used.

  2. Number of Participants Who Completed SARS-CoV-2 Tests

    Time frame: Up to 12 months

    The number/percentage of participants who completed at least one SARS-CoV-2 test for the whole 12-month study period (up to 5 tests available) is summarized by study arm.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Masking Adherence

    Time frame: 12 months post-enrollment

    Masking adherence behavior was measured using a composite weighted variable estimating how frequently participants engaged in activities with potential COVID-19 exposure and how often they wore a mask during those activities in the previous two weeks. Initial response options were 1=Always, 2=Most of the time, 3=Sometimes, 4=Rarely or 5=Never. Responses were combined and standardized to a scale of 1 to 100 with higher scores indicating greater masking adherence. Results are summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics.

  2. Social Distancing Behavior

    Time frame: 12 months post-enrollment

    Social distancing measured the participants' social distancing behavior by their responses to the following question: "Overall, on a scale of 1-100, how often did you stay greater than 6 feet away from others when you were not masked in the past 2 weeks? Higher scores were indicative of more frequent social distancing. Results are summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics.

  3. Hand Washing Adherence

    Time frame: 12 months post-enrollment

    Participants' hand washing behavior was measured by the following question: Overall, on a scale of 1-100, how often did you wash hands after shaking hands with or touching surfaces that were touched by someone else in the past two weeks? Higher scores were indicative of more frequent hand washing behavior. Results are summarized by study arm using descriptive statistics.

  4. Mitigation Measures

    Time frame: 12 months post-enrollment

    The number/percentage of participants who reported mitigation behaviors in at least one biweekly smartphone survey is summarized by study arm.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Montefiore Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • Cepheid
  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
  • The Fortune Society
  • University of Bristol

Registry information

Official study title

Leveraging Community Health Workers to Improve COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Among Criminal Justice-involved Individuals Accessing a Corrections-focused Community-based Organization

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
May 7, 2021
Registry last updated
Jun 25, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.