What is the DISCOVAR Study?
This is a study to learn more about COVID-19, the symptoms people have, and how it effects people’s health. The study is called the Disparities in Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Arkansas and for it we are interviewing adults who tested positive for COVID-19. The main focus of this study is to look at the differences in the immune response to COVID-19 infection related to race and ethnicity.
We are asking people like you, who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arkansas between August 2021 and March 2023 to help us. We estimate that about 600 adults will take part in this study.
What to expect
This study will be ongoing for the next 5 years but your participation will be simple. As part of the study, we will be asking people to complete a series of phone interviews with corresponding biospecimen collections (blood draws). We will ask you to take a telephone interview at the time of joining the study (~2 weeks after testing) and then 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months later; and then every 6 months until 48 months after testing (4 years) for a total of 12 telephone interviews. This PDF contains a detailed breakdown of how the interviews and sample collections will be conducted.
Who can Take Part in the DISCOVAR Study?
We will enroll 600 adults 18 years and older with a confirmed COVID-19 positive in Arkansas between August 2021 and March 2023. You must live in Arkansas, speak English or Spanish and be non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, or non-Hispanic white.
Why should I join a research study?
Research studies help scientist and doctors learn about healthcare challenges so that they can find and develops solutions, treatments, medicines, and processes that can help people. Studies like these can potentially benefit you in the short term but they can also benefit future generations of people. Discoveries about things like the common cold, cancer, life-saving vaccines, and medicines have been made possible by research studies.
How being in this study help me and why is research about COVID-19 important?
COVID-19 has made a lot of people sick. Scientists and doctors want to learn more so they can help people stay well or not get as sick. We are inviting you to be in this research study because you had COVID-19. If you join, you could help us learn how COVID-19 impacts health over time in people from different races and ethnicities.
Join DISCOVAR Study
For more information on how to join this study, fill out the form and a member of our team will contact you.
Who is paying for this study?
This study is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the federal medical research agency in the United States. To learn more about the NIH, visit https://www.nih.gov/