Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) in a Vulnerable Neighbourhood, Buenos Aries Argentina

A community-level seroprevalence survey was conducted in a cross-sectional design during a Participatory Action Research (PAR).

Starter PAR team: researcher who developed the Elisa Test, virologist that perform the analysis of the test and physician that served as volunteer field epidemiologist at the surveillance system (DetectAr Barrio 31) offered technical cooperation to test people experiencing homelessness.

PAR-First step: A sample for convenience of homeless people was tested during 3 days in a popular dining room managed by a non-governmental organization. Samples were collected by a DetectAr nurse and a volunteer epidemiologist.

PAR-Second step: feasibility was determined by the DetectAr coordinators of the Community Health Division of the Ministry of Health and the 12 health community workers (HCWs) when two volunteer epidemiologists from a University Institute explained the field organization (sample technique, data collection and database entry) for obtaining a probabilistic sample of residents. The PAR process was a cornerstone for reaching the sample size.

PAR-Third step: A cross-sectional study for seroprevalence survey was carried out.