![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
Abstract
Objectives
To describe the participants of a university-based COVID-19 contact tracing course and determine whether the course changed knowledge, attitudes, and intention to participate in contact tracing.
Participants
Faculty, staff, and students were eligible.
Methods
Surveys evaluated the impact of the course on participant intentions to engage in contact tracing. Logistic regression identified characteristics associated with increased likelihood of participating in contact tracing.
Results
Nearly 800 individuals participated, of whom 26.2% identified as Hispanic/Latino and 14.0% as Black. Nearly half (48.8%) planned to conduct contact tracing. While attitudes did not change, knowledge improved (67.9% vs. 93.8% scores on assessments; p < 0.001). Younger participants and Black individuals were more more likely to be confident that they would participate in contact tracing.
Conclusions
Course completion was associated with increased knowledge. Participants were racially and ethnically diverse, highlighting how universities can partner with health departments to develop workforces that reflect local communities.
Acknowledgments
We thank our colleagues at the Houston Health Department and Harris County Public Health for their collaboration in developing and evaluating this course.
Conflict of interest disclosure
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Houston.