A Community Grounded Approach to Addressing COVID-19 Health Disparities and Misinformation in Latinx and Indigenous...

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted historically marginalized populations, especially low-income Latinx and Indigenous Mexican immigrant communities in the United States. These groups face persistent structural and social obstacles to health, such as limited healthcare access, language barriers, and concern regarding immigration status, that contribute to institutional mistrust, health misinformation, and reduced COVID-19 vaccine uptake, deepening existing public health disparities. This mixed-methods study utilized a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to address vaccine hesitancy among Latinx and Indigenous Mexican farmworkers in the Eastern Coachella Valley, a rural desert region in Inland Southern California. A toolkit, featuring a mural, mini-documentary, and community talks, was developed and implemented to promote COVID-19 vaccination. Pretest and posttest surveys were conducted with 94 community members and three focus groups with 39 total participants provided qualitative feedback on the intervention. The intervention reduced belief in COVID-19 misinformation and increased trust in institutions (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). However, no significant improvements were found in reducing fear and insecurity surrounding vaccination or English-language confidence (p = 0.557, p = 0.292). Focus group feedback highlighted structural inequalities as contributors to mistrust in healthcare and vaccine hesitancy. Community-based interventions tailored to cultural and linguistic contexts show promise in reducing misinformation and improving institutional trust in marginalized communities. However, deeper structural inequities, such as racism and economic instability, must be addressed to reduce vaccine hesitancy in vulnerable and marginalized communities.