Trial results for the SCALE-UP Utah study, investigating methods to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-12-12. The study enrolled a total of 65,300 participants.
Background
COVID-19 vaccination remains a critical public health measure to control the pandemic. Despite widespread availability, challenges persist in achieving optimal vaccination rates, particularly within specific community health center populations. Interventions aimed at improving vaccine reach, acceptance, and uptake are essential. This study explored practical, scalable strategies to enhance vaccination efforts by leveraging community-academic partnerships in Utah.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 65,300 participants to address COVID-19 vaccination rates. The trial compared two interventions: Text Messaging (TM) and Text Messaging Plus Patient Navigation. The primary objective was to increase the reach, acceptance, and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among Utah's Community Health Center patient population.
Key results
The trial reported several key measurements related to vaccine uptake and engagement:
- For total vaccine uptake (Uptake-Total):
- The Text-Messaging (TM) group had 14308 participants.
- The Text-Messaging Plus Patient Navigation group had 14381 participants.
- For engagement with text messaging (Reach-TM Engage):
- The Text-Messaging (TM) group had 5538 participants.
- The Text-Messaging Plus Patient Navigation group had 5587 participants.
- For engagement with patient navigation for logistics assistance (Reach-PN Engage- Logistics Assistance):
- The Text-Messaging (TM) group had 0 participants.
- The Text-Messaging Plus Patient Navigation group had 592 participants.
- For engagement with patient navigation for requested navigation (Reach-PN Engage- Requested Navigation):
- The Text-Messaging (TM) group had 0 participants.
- The Text-Messaging Plus Patient Navigation group had 122 participants.
What this means
The results indicate that while both text messaging interventions facilitated significant vaccine uptake, the addition of patient navigation led to a slightly higher number of vaccinated participants. The data also highlights that patient navigation specifically contributed to engagement in terms of logistics assistance and direct navigation requests, areas where the text-messaging-only approach showed no direct engagement. This suggests that incorporating patient navigation can enhance engagement and potentially improve vaccine uptake within community health center settings, addressing specific barriers to vaccination.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT04939519, titled "SCALE-UP Utah: Community-Academic Partnership to Address COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Among Utah Community Health Centers", were posted on 2025-12-12 on clinicaltrials.gov.