Newton Veronica, Farinu Oluyemi, Smith Herschel, Jackson Monisha Issano, Martin Samantha D
Sociology Department, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
Center for Maternal Health Equity, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Jan 16. doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-02268-7.
Black communities in the United States (U.S.) have faced stark inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes. The underrepresentation of Black participants in COVID-19 testing research is detrimental to the understanding of the burden of the disease as well as the impact of risk factors for disease acquisition among Black Americans. Prior scholarship notes that the reluctance to engage in medical research among Black people is, in part, due to the exploitation and abuse this community has seen from the medical field and other social institutions. To better understand the barriers and motivations for COVID-19 testing among Black Americans, this study utilized intersectionality as methodological and theoretical frameworks to examine and investigate the barriers and motivations influencing participation in COVID-19 serosurveys (blood test and interview) among the metro-Atlanta Black communities. From May to October 2021, we took a community-based participatory research approach and conducted 52 semi-structured interviews to uncover different Black communities' feelings and opinions towards COVID-19 testing. Key reasons participants agreed to the blood test include (1) curiosity; (2) health upkeep; (3) family/community/social responsibility; and (4) importance of research. Participants' reasons for rejecting the blood test were (1) unnecessary/no benefit; (2) fear (of the known and unknown); (3) fear of needles and/or blood; and (4) discomfort with test setting/procedure. Our findings show that perspectives on willingness to engagement in testing or to not participate varied across gender and age for Black individuals.
美国的黑人社区在新冠疫情的结果上面临着严重的不平等。黑人参与者在新冠病毒检测研究中的代表性不足，不利于了解该疾病的负担以及美国黑人中疾病感染风险因素的影响。先前的学术研究指出，黑人不愿参与医学研究，部分原因是这个群体在医疗领域和其他社会机构中遭受过剥削和虐待。为了更好地理解美国黑人进行新冠病毒检测的障碍和动机，本研究采用交叉性作为方法论和理论框架，来审视和调查影响大亚特兰大地区黑人社区参与新冠病毒血清学调查（血液检测和访谈）的障碍和动机。2021年5月至10月，我们采用基于社区的参与性研究方法，进行了52次半结构化访谈，以了解不同黑人社区对新冠病毒检测的感受和看法。参与者同意进行血液检测的主要原因包括：（1）好奇心；（2）维护健康；（3）家庭/社区/社会责任；（4）研究的重要性。参与者拒绝血液检测的原因是：（1）不必要/无益处；（2）恐惧（已知和未知的）；（3）害怕针头和/或血液；（4）对检测环境/程序感到不适。我们的研究结果表明，黑人个体对于参与检测或不参与检测的意愿的看法因性别和年龄而异。
