Trial results for a study investigating COVID-19 testing uptake in Utah community health centers were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2026-02-04, involving 44,729 enrolled participants.

Background

COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has necessitated widespread public health efforts to control its spread, including robust testing strategies. Ensuring high uptake of screening and testing among diverse populations is crucial for early detection, isolation, and preventing further transmission. Community health centers play a vital role in reaching underserved populations. The SCALE-UP Utah project aimed to enhance the reach, acceptance, uptake, and long-term sustainability of COVID-19 screening and testing within these centers, comparing two practical interventions.

Trial design

This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 44,729 participants with Covid19. The trial compared two interventions designed to increase COVID-19 testing uptake in Utah Community Health Centers: Text Messaging (TM), a population health management intervention that analyzes EHR data to automatically identify patients with high risk, and Text Messaging Plus Patient Navigation (TM+PN). The study aimed to increase the reach, acceptance, uptake, and long-term sustainability of COVID-19 screening and testing among the patient population.

Key results

The trial reported several key measurements related to participant engagement with the interventions:

What this means

The results indicate that both Text Messaging (TM) and Text Messaging Plus Patient Navigation (TM+PN) interventions successfully engaged participants in the context of COVID-19 testing uptake. Specifically, the TM intervention alone showed a slightly higher number of participants engaged in the initial 'Reach-TM Engage' outcome. However, the TM+PN intervention demonstrated unique engagement in 'Logistics Assistance' and 'Requested Navigation', suggesting that adding patient navigation can facilitate deeper interaction and support for individuals requiring more assistance with testing. These findings provide insights into the effectiveness of different community-based strategies for promoting public health initiatives.

Source

The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT04939532, titled 'SCALE-UP Utah: Community-Academic Partnership to Address COVID-19 Testing Among Utah Community Health Centers', were posted on 2026-02-04 on clinicaltrials.gov.