UArizona Statewide Study Building Knowledge About Health Risks Before, After COVID-19 Infection
Arizona CoVHORT is a multiyear study that will answer questions about risk factors for COVID-19 and how the virus impacts long-term health outcomes.
To better understand the health impacts of COVID-19, researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences are leading the first statewide long-term public health study of COVID-19 in Arizona. Arizona CoVHORT will provide vital data to help understand individual susceptibility to infection, the health repercussions after recovery from the virus, and the overall impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of Arizonans.
Kristen Pogreba-Brown, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is leading Arizona CoVHORT, a long-term study that will improve our understanding of the health impacts of COVID-19.
Arizona CoVHORT will compare health outcomes for Arizonans who tested positive for the novel coronavirus to those of Arizonans who were not infected. Led by Kristen Pogreba-Brown, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, researchers will collect information on pre-existing conditions such as cancer, hypertension and diabetes, as well as basic data such as sex, race, ethnicity and occupation.
“This study will help us answer so many of the most important health questions around COVID-19. Who is most susceptible to severe infection? What are the long-term health consequences? What health factors put people at greater risk after they’ve been sick? This is information the whole world wants to know,” Dr. Pogreba-Brown said. “With the knowledge from this research, we’ll know where we need to focus attention and resources for better health outcomes during and after the pandemic. We’ll help save lives.”
Arizona CoVHORT will answer multiple health questions by following a group of individuals over time in what is called a “cohort” study. Participants start with a baseline health survey that takes about 15 minutes to complete online and includes information about symptoms, illness and recovery, and measures of well-being.
Periodic follow-up surveys monitor participants’ health status over time and gather information on how the pandemic has affected Arizona residents’ health and access to care. Participants receive four follow-up surveys in the first year and one or two per year after that.
The Arizona CoVHORT database will be available for all Arizona investigators to use for current and future health research.
“These results will provide important public health information for Arizona residents and will greatly expand our understanding of the long-term health impacts of COVID-19. What we learn will influence science and health care practice,” Dr. Pogreba-Brown added.
With funding from the BIO5 Institute Technology and Research Initiative, Dr. Pogreba-Brown initiated the project in March with the help of Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD, and Leslie Farland, ScD, in the Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Pamela Garcia-Filion, PhD, MPH, in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.
“We are using this project to not only establish longitudinal monitoring, but to assess the short-term and long-term health effects of COVID-19 on Arizona residents,” Dr. Garcia-Filion said. “This is extremely important because the project will include the most vulnerable populations and those that might otherwise not have access to care or testing.”
Other researchers involved in the study are: Kacey Ernst, PhD, MPH, professor in the Zuckerman College of Public Health; Karen Lutrick, PhD, assistant professor in the College of Medicine – Tucson Department of Family and Community Medicine; and Megan Jehn, PhD, MPH, an epidemiologist at Arizona State University who is leading the effort to recruit participants from their saliva-based testing program.
“The more we know about the risk factors, the better we can help our communities and treat patients who contract the virus, even after they have recovered,” Dr. Pogreba-Brown said. “This pandemic is not going away any time soon, and we need to know how to fight it, how to protect people, and how to provide the best treatment. Arizona CoVHORT will provide the data to improve the health of all Arizonans.”
The project began in Pima County and is now recruiting statewide. To learn more and sign up, visit the Arizona CoVHORT website and follow the links to join the research study.
An Institutional Review Board responsible for human subjects research at UArizona reviewed this research project and found it to be acceptable, according to applicable state and federal regulations and university policies designed to protect the rights and welfare of participants in research.
# # #
NOTE: Photos available upon request.
About the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
Established in 2000, the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona Health Sciences is the first nationally accredited college of public health in the Southwest. Today the college remains the only accredited college of public health in the state of Arizona, with campuses in Tucson and Phoenix. The college enrolls more than 1,100 students per year across degree programs at the bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctoral levels. Through research, education and community engagement, the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health continues to find solutions to public health problems in Arizona, the Southwest and globally. For more information: publichealth.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram).
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).