Glenn Martinez, director of the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures, is among 11 faculty members whose research project received funding from Ohio State’s Office of Research to boost research in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Martinez, a Hispanic Linguistics professor for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, is the lead investigator on a project that examines how Spanish-speaking Latinos in Columbus access health information related to COVID-19.

Martinez’s project team will survey members of the Latino community in Columbus on the information sources they trust and how well they understand what’s being shared. They will review the results against a social vulnerability index (SVI), a measure that shows geographic patterns of intersectional vulnerabilities.

The project will gauge whether a lack of access to comprehensible health information on COVID-19 is related to social vulnerability from limited English ability, socio-economic status, ethnicity or race. The team will share survey results with two focus groups of language policymakers to engage them in building solutions to address gaps.

Ten additional projects were awarded in the final round of funding for a total of $310,000. Through three rounds of funding, 24 projects were awarded over $770,000 from the Office of Research.