The C3-REACH (Committed to Communities Collaborative: Research and Engagement to Advance Beyond COVID to Health Equity) team is comprised of multi-disciplinary scholars and students oriented towards health equity in their work. Led by Dr. Tasleem Padamsee and Dr. Julianna Nemeth of Ohio State’s College of Public Health, the team is engaged in several projects that aim to address the inequitable burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities made vulnerable to disparities due to social and structural determinants of health. These projects use mixed methods research and emphasize community collaboration and engagement in research processes. Offering a holistic approach to health equity within and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of our group represent a variety of academic disciplines including but not limited to Sociology, Medicine, Health Promotion, and Public Policy, and extend beyond OSU to include participants from other academic and medical institutions as well as community collaborators.

Our research and action agenda was developed in response to Ohio’s COVID-19 Populations Needs Assessment — a statewide evaluation led by Drs. Nemeth and Padamsee to improve the ability of Ohioans to prevent COVID-19 transmission and minimize its impacts on their communities. Our current research encompasses projects investigating recovery in some of the Ohio communities that have been hardest hit by COVID-19, vaccine access and advocacy in populations made vulnerable by pre-existing social inequalities and the pandemic and developing educational materials to improve COVID-19 protections in historically marginalized groups.

To contact us about getting involved in one of our studies, please contact us at c3-reach@osu.edu or (614) 292-0268. We will compensate all study participants for their time and assistance in our projects.