Together We Thrive: Strengthen the Capability of AAPIs in Pima County in Dealing with COVID-19

Abstract:

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had significant physical, mental, and social health impacts on the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations in Pima County, Arizona, USA. The Together We Thrive (TWT) project established specific activities to improve the three health areas impacted by COVID-19: newsletters, vaccination clinics, website COVID-19 resource center, community information tables, social health classes, mental health panel presentations, COVID-19 presentations, and giving out COVID-19 information and home test kits. The activities that address each of the three health areas were evaluated for their impact.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study (program evaluation). The number of newsletters given out, vaccines given, website visits, community event information table visits, COVID-19 information and home test kits given out, and classes/presentation attendance were recorded. For social health classes, mental health panel presentations, and community COVID-19 presentation evaluation forms collected information on knowledge gain, usefulness of knowledge gain, and impact.

Results: The TWT Project had reached 9,642 people and had provided 13,398 health education/promotion contacts. Many of the same individuals had participated in more than one TWT activities/events. The largest number of people outreached was during the community events, but the largest number of health education/promotion contacts was by the newsletter.

Conclusion: The physical, mental, and social effects associated with COVID-19 were

addressed by the project. TWT also met many of the needs identified in the AAPI survey. The project used innovative, comprehensive health education and promotion approaches to engage the AAPI populations and to meet the changing COVID-19 needs.