CO-MTN's Community Engagement Efforts
Who Started The Community of Practice?
- University of Colorado Hospital, Family Health West, and National Jewish Health established a Long COVID Community of Practice (CO-COP) in February 2023 at the request of the State of Colorado Lieutenant Governor's Office. The UCH North Long COVID Clinic is now a part of the CO-COP.
What Does CO-COP Do?
- Facilitates knowledge sharing and translation related to Long COVID in monthly meetings.
- Provides input on care standardization, identification and surveillance of Long COVID as well as the barriers to reach and access Long COVID care particularly for historically underserved communities.
The Community of Practice is comprised of:
- Pulmonary and Long COVID specialists from the three geographically distributed multidisciplinary clinics in the study
- The State of Colorado Lieutenant Governor's Office
- Primary care doctors throughout Colorado
- Fellow Researchers
- Patients
- Project Managers
- Epidemiologists
- State Policy advisors
- Health navigators
Our Milestones:
- Have hosted multiple different speakers (physicians, state and policy employees, health professionals from various health organizations,etc.) to faciliate conversations between various medical professionals on how to improve the care Long COVID patients receive.
- Created a Long COVID Tip Sheet for providers to utilize with the help of different physicians and specialists.
The Patient Advisory Board is:
- A panel of patients and caregivers that meet quarterly to share insights on Long COVID patient experiences and care access.
- The panel helps ensure that the study team is utilizing culturally responsive Long COVID care by raising awareness of relevant issues and improving training and study practices to address barriers and spread best practices.
The Patient Advisory Board is comprised of:
- Members who have lived experience with Long COVID
- Long COVID caregivers
- PAB members review patient facing documents (posters/flyers/surveys) prior to patient enrollment.
- Patient Advisory Board Meetings offer a space for members to inform the study team about their personal Long COVID experiences/stories. These meetings build a community where people can educate, share experiences, and discuss barriers of receiving Long COVID Care.