Addressing COVID-19 Concerns in Amish Country

Amish settlements can be found in 31 states in the US, and Ohio is home to two of the worlds largest communities. Many communities follow a collectivistic lifestyle where faith and community are prioritized over self, and technology is often limited due to its intrusion on family life and values. Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been observed in locations where Amish communities reside, and results of a current survey of Amish community members noted a lack of access to health information and misinformation about the COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic. The goal of this outreach program is to increase access to evidence-based and culturally sensitive health information about COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 and to address common myths and misinformation about COVID-19 / SARS-CoV-2 and vaccines among Amish communities. Our community-led program, titled Addressing COVID-19 Concerns in Amish Country, aims to develop and disseminate a culturally sensitive COVID-19 Fact Sheet for Amish communities and to provide a COVID-19 hotline to Amish community members staffed by a trained community member who can speak the primary language and address questions and misinformation. The proposed outreach program is the first to specifically address the cultural and access needs of COVID-19 health information among Amish communities and can serve as a best practices model that can be replicated across the country.