COVID-19 Rapid Test-to-Treat With African American Churches (Faithful Response II) (FRII)

February 26, 2026 updated by: University of Missouri, Kansas City

COVID-19 Testing and Linkage to Care With African American Church and Health Agency Partners

This 2-arm clustered, randomized community trial will test a multilevel, religiously-tailored COVID-19 rapid, self-testing and treatment intervention against a nontailored, education condition on uptake of COVID-19 rapid testing with 900 adult African American church members and community members using outreach ministry services from 12 churches at 6 months. Rapid COVID-19 self-testing and contact tracing (beliefs and practices), and use of linkage to care services (e.g., referrals to treatment, health insurance, medical home/appointments, community resources) will also be examined. Findings from this study could provide a scalable model for feasible, accessible and acceptable COVID-19 rapid, self-testing (with rapid linkage to treatment and health/community resources) in public (churches and their affiliate settings and organizations), home, and health provider spaces by equipping African American churches with culturally-appropriate, easy-to-use rapid test kits, health department support, and tailored COVID-19 test-to-treat education and promotion tools.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Many multilayered barriers increase risk for COVID-19 among AA including poverty, essential jobs with increased virus exposure, cultural norms (eg, risk denial, medical/contact tracing mistrust), chronic health conditions, and limited access to healthcare and other services/resources. These barriers highlight the need for accessible, trusted COVID-19 testing and linkage to antiviral treatment and care services (LTC; e.g., health, prevention programs, community resources, contact tracing) and to community resources (e.g., food, rent assistance) to help slow COVID-19 spread in AA communities. The AA church is an institution with extensive influence in AA communities and may be an ideal setting for increasing reach of COVID-19 test-to-treat (TTT) interventions with LTC in hard hit AA communities. Yet, no controlled AA church-based studies exist on COVID-19 TTT interventions. The primary aim of this study is to fully test a culturally/religiously-tailored, church-based COVID-19 TTT with LTC intervention condition against a non-tailored education condition on COVID-19 rapid testing rates at 6 months with adult AA church members and the community members they serve. Churches will be matched on membership size, denomination and past participation in church health intervention studies, then randomized to treatment condition. Twelve churches (6 churches per arm; 55 church and 20 community members/church; N=900 total) will participate in the study. Antiviral and contact tracing intentions and use will also be examined at 6 months as secondary outcomes. Other types of COVID-19 testing and linkage to care use will also be assessed. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and Socioecological Model, our community-engaged approach includes trained church leaders delivering a culturally, church-appropriate COVID-19 TTT Toolkit inclusive of digital tools: a) individual self-help materials and automated/tailored text messages; b) ministry group educational information; c) virtual/in-person church services with COVID-19 related materials/activities (e.g., sermons, pastors modeling rapid-self testing, testimonials, bulletins); and d) church-community level linkage to care (LTC) services (e.g., contact tracing, treatment, healthcare, community resources) provided by contact tracers serving as community health workers (CHW). Intervention churches will host 2 COVID-19 TTT events and will also provide members with take-home COVID-19 rapid self-test kits. Potential mediators/moderators related to receipt of COVID-19 testing will be evaluated, and a process evaluation to determine implementation facilitators, barriers, and fidelity related to increasing COVID19 testing rates. Our ongoing meetings with our long-term faith and health partners is enabling us to quickly adapt our AA church-based COVID-19 testing, HIV testing and diabetes prevention interventions for the proposed study. This novel study is the first to fully test a COVID-19 TTT intervention in AA churches. It could provide a theory-based, multilevel scalable model for equipping AA churches to deliver wide-reaching COVID-19 rapid testing and promote treatment with health agency partners.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
900

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Missouri
      • Kansas City, Missouri, United States, 64108
        • School Of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • a) self-identify as African American, b) aged 18 or older; c) willing to participate in 2 surveys after church services, electronically, by phone, or in the study's office space; d) willing to provide contact information (i.e., two phone numbers, mailing/email address, phone numbers for two persons with whom they have ongoing contact; and e) regularly attend church (>once a month) or use church outreach services (e.g., daycare services, food programs) >4 times/year.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • persons with plans to move from KC metro area over the next 12 months and non-English speaking/reading persons.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Screening
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: COVID-19 rapid test-to-treat
Church-based COVID19 rapid testing (2 testing events) promoted with a COVID19 Toolkit delivered by church health workers and linkage to treatment/care delivered by contact tracer community health workers.
Behavioral: COVID-19 rapid test-to-treat
This community-engaged approach includes trained church leaders delivering a culturally, church-appropriate COVID-19 test-to-treat toolkit materials/activities via multilevel church outlets: a) self-help materials and tailored text messages; b) ministry group educational information; c) church services with COVID-19 related materials/activities (e.g., sermons, pastors modeling rapid-self testing, testimonials, bulletins); and d) church-community level linkage to care services (e.g., healthcare, community resources) provided by health department testers cross-trained as community health workers. Intervention churches will host 2 COVID-19 TTT events in coordination with the local health department, which provide rapid testing onsite at participating churches, provide members with take-home COVID-19 rapid self-test kits, and support an option for members to use a proctored telehealth rapid test that will be able to qualify persons for a anti-viral treatment prescription (e.g., Paxlovid).
Behavioral: Standard COVID19 education control arm
Multilevel delivery of standard COVID-19 education by church leaders and 2 COVID-19 testing events.
Active Comparator: Standard COVID-19 education control arm
Standard COVID-19 information inclusive of test-to-treat information that has not been tailored will be delivered by church health workers
Behavioral: Standard COVID19 education control arm
Multilevel delivery of standard COVID-19 education by church leaders and 2 COVID-19 testing events.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Uptake of COVID-19 testing
Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months
COVID19 rapid testing will be assessed via self-report (ever, last 6 months, month/day/year) and objectively assessed with data reports provided by the Kansas City MO Health Department
Baseline, 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Missouri, Kansas City

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jannette Berkley-Patton, PhD, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 15, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
February 24, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
March 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2038603KC-387550
  • U01MD018310 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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