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Washington University and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health are teaming up, along with other local public health and health care providers to conduct a 30-minute phone survey of up to 5,000 St. Louis County residents.
The goal is to to gauge the prevalence of – and risk factors for – the illness and to broadly shed light on the experiences of St. Louis County residents. Participants will be offered free COVID-19 testing at convenient locations across the county, regardless of whether they have symptoms, with transportation to and from testing sites provided free of charge, as needed.
Those who complete the survey and a test will receive Visa gift cards to help compensate them for their time and effort. When residents receive a call to participate in the survey, their caller ID will say: COVID19 STL Survey.
All participants will be notified of their test results. Those who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a thermometer, a pulse oximeter to monitor oxygen levels in the blood, and a face mask and hand sanitizer to help prevent the spread of infection to others. Medical personnel will follow up with anyone who tests positive to check on symptoms, at no cost to the participant.
“We don’t fully know how the virus has affected the health and well-being of St. Louis County residents or how many may be infected with COVID-19 without feeling sick or getting a test,” said Spring Schmidt, acting director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health. “This project will be instrumental in helping us make service delivery decisions that ease the stress and suffering for residents in the county – especially for those most affected.”
The $1.99 million cost of the project is being paid out of St. Louis County CARES Act funding. The department ultimately will use the project data and results to help inform decisions about public health and health care delivery regarding the ongoing pandemic and possible future epidemics.
This survey is not related to any current COVID-19 vaccine or treatment trials, nor will participation in this survey be linked to any clinical trial. For additional information, call (314)273-3620 or visit STLCorona.com.
Article originally published by the Washington University School of Medicine
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