AUTHOR=Pons-Calvo Adriana D. , Pérez Cynthia M. , Canales-Birriel Karelys , Tamarit-Quevedo Zaydelis , Solís-Torres Norangelys , López-Cepero Andrea , García-Rivera Enid , Larriuz María , Acosta-Pérez Edna , Colón Marcilyn , Román Zuleska Soto , Ortiz Ana P. , Rivera-Gastón Fabiola , Colón-López Vivian TITLE=The Puerto Rico community engagement alliance (PR-CEAL) against COVID-19 disparities: outreach and research engagement efforts in disproportionately affected communities JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=12 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1420270 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1420270 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

In September 2020, the National Institutes of Health acted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing the critical need to combat misinformation, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by the crisis. The Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) emerged as an initiative dedicated to fostering reliable, science-based information, diversity, and inclusion; aiming to implement effective strategies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 nationwide. One of the teams participating in this initiative is Puerto Rico-CEAL (PR-CEAL). Our whose goal was to raise awareness about the coronavirus disease and advance research, mainly focusing on vulnerable and underserved populations. This concept paper seeks to outline PR-CEAL’s infrastructure during its initial two cycles, providing insights into the research and community engagement activities designed to enhance prevention, counter misinformation, and foster awareness and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Ultimately, our objective is to reflect on the strengths and challenges encountered thus far as we endeavor to sustain this robust infrastructure, addressing ongoing public health issues with a forward-looking approach.