LATIN-19: A grass-roots coalition to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 on the Latinx community in North Carolina

Online Publication Date:
March 28, 2022
Publication Status:
Published
Published Article MUSE Link:
Manuscript PDF File:

**Published in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 16.2S. All rights reserved.**

ABSTRACT
Background: Social inequity is a primary driver of health disparities, creating multiple barriers to good health. These inequities were exacerbated during the COVID pandemic, with Latinx communities suffering more than others. Grassroots collaborations have long existed to address disparities.
Objective: We describe the creation and work of LATIN-19 (the Latinx Advocacy Team and Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19; http://latin19.org/), a multi-sector coalition in North Carolina created to address the unique challenges of COVID-19 in the Latinx community.
Methods: We discuss challenges and solutions that LATIN-19 addressed and the impact of LATIN-19 on community partners and members.
Results: LATIN-19 learned of challenges including, lack of awareness, need for data systems to track disparities, need to increase access to resources, need for policy changes, and need to coordinate services by community organizations.
Conclusion: LATIN-19 represents a grass-roots organization that has had an impact on community and community organizations that spans beyond COVID-19.