{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T14:06:22Z","timestamp":1771596382167,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771545600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NC Collaboratory and NIH\/RCMI","award":["U54MD012392"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U54MD012392"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>For historically marginalized groups and residents of low-resource rural communities, contact tracing is a critical tool for controlling the spread of communicable diseases. To improve its effectiveness, more research on identifying factors that influence an individual\u2019s willingness to comply with contact tracers is needed. Therefore, we examined the association of race\/ethnicity, contextual factors, and willingness to engage in contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample included 337 adults (56% Black\/African American and 66% female). Approximately 80% of the participants indicated they would disclose the names of contacts. The results from the multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated lack of access to COVID-19 testing sites (aOR = 2.20; 95% CI = 1.08\u20134.48) and trust in health care providers (aOR = 7.57; 95% CI = 3.82\u201314.88) were significantly associated with willingness to share information with contact tracers. Race did not moderate the relationship between trust and engaging with contact tracers. The results suggest contact tracing is a viable strategy for mitigating disease transmission in rural communities, particularly when trust in health care providers is high and access to testing is limited, regardless of race. Public health officials should invest in maintaining contact tracing teams that include medical providers and prioritize building trusting relationships with all community members.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23020267","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]],"date-time":"2026-02-20T13:08:23Z","timestamp":1771592903000},"page":"267","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Why People Share (Or Don\u2019t): Race\/Ethnicity and Contextual Correlates of Willingness to Disclose Contact Information During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Rural North Carolina"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Leah J.","family":"Floyd","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9752-8930","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irene","family":"Doherty","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tanisha","family":"Burford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0418-5116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Deepak","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC 27707, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jackson, S.L., Derakhshan, S., Blackwood, L., Lee, L., Huang, Q., Habets, M., and Cutter, S.L. (2021). Spatial Disparities of COVID-19 Cases and Fatalities in United States Counties. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18168259"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"591","DOI":"10.1111\/jrh.12486","article-title":"Progression of COVID-19 From Urban to Rural Areas in the United States: A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Prevalence Rates","volume":"36","author":"Paul","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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