ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Bilingual Digital Health Intervention to Improve COVID-19 Self-Testing Intentions Among Hispanic Adults
Provisionally accepted
- 1The University of Texas at El Paso, College of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, El Paso, United States
- 2The University of Texas at El Paso Department of Biological Sciences, El Paso, United States
- 3School of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, United States
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Abstract Introduction: Testing remains one of the most effective strategies for reducing the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 rapid antigen tests are well-suited for at-home use; however, several barriers, including language, hinder the widespread adoption of self-testing. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the impact of a bilingual digital health intervention on self-efficacy, intentions, and willingness to self-administer a COVID-19 antigen rapid test. Methods: Participants (N = 150) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: 1) an intervention group who received the bilingual digital health intervention, or 2) a control group who received the standard iHealth® instructions typically included with COVID-19 antigen rapid test kits. Results: Participants in the bilingual digital health intervention reported significantly higher intentions to self-test for COVID-19 (M = 4.26 vs. 3.82), t(143) = –2.37, p = .019, and greater willingness to test themselves (M = 4.25 vs. 3.89), t(142) = –1.99, p = .047. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the bilingual digital health intervention may have a positive impact on enhancing intentions and willingness to self-administer a COVID-19 antigen rapid test. These findings highlight the potential of culturally and linguistically tailored digital health interventions to reduce barriers and promote access to at-home COVID-19 testing in Hispanic communities. Notably, to help alleviate cost barriers associated with purchasing COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits, the research team collaborated with a highly qualified team of Community Health Workers (CHWs) to disseminate approximately 4,500 free COVID-19 test kits throughout the community.
Keywords: Digital Health Intervention (DHI), COVID-19 rapid antigen test, Hispanic, community engaged research, Bilingual Intervention, Digital Health
Received: 09 Jul 2025; Accepted: 11 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gbugu, Gil, Mancera, Abegaz and Frietze. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gabriel Andrew Frietze, gafrietze@utep.edu
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