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Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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Case Study
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) oversees programs and services for older adults through the aging service network, and worked closely with the COVID-19 command center during the COVID-19 pandemic. EOEA worked with senior affordable housing providers and advocated for vaccines for older adult populations. They also used their network to disseminate COVID-19 information to older adults, caregivers, and those working directly with older adults.
Best Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes when implemented in multiple real-life settings, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities.
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Summary Report/Recommendations
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs, the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative, and Tufts Health Plan Foundation partnered with FSG to conduct interviews and secondary research of COVID-19 lessons and recommendations framed for three key audiences: organizations, partnerships and collaborations, and funders and policymakers. This research was conducted in six communities in Massachusetts, and identifies key themes and strategies to lift up based on real-world activities implemented during the pandemic. Findings emphasize the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on older adults across a broad range of social, economic, and health factors, and effective strategies for supporting older adults are outlined such as direct communication and flexible services. Gaps are also identified across each of the findings, indicating where there is room for improvement and community strengthening. Lessons and recommendations are also clearly outlined by audience, with clear suggestions for implementing effective strategies to support older populations in various community settings.
Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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Toolkit
Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives is designed to support older adults thorough depression education and skill building to increase self sufficiency and active living. The program is structured over 6-8 weeks of sessions and is designed to be administered by staff who have no previous counseling or mental health education. The program originally started in the 1990’s in Washington state and has since been implemented with a wide range of minority and hard-to-reach populations.
Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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Peer Review Study
Members of many underserved communities have long seen worse health outcomes, and this has been exacerbated by COVID-19. This article describes certain strategies that health departments, hospitals, universities, service providers, and others have used to engage and partner with members of underserved communities. In Chicago, health departments, hospitals, service providers, and community organizations formed an alliance that met daily to coordinate services for people experiencing homelessness. The Navajo Nation partnered with health departments and hospitals to create a health command center to get aid to people, test and contact trace, and collect funding. An alliance in Albuquerque used community based participatory research (CBPR) to complete strategic planning regarding mitigating COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness. Other cities also used CBPR or saw grassroots efforts to partner wit health departments to increase aid and funding to communities with the greatest need.
Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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White Paper/Brief
In northwest Arkansas, the Marshallese community has experienced a disproportionate COVID-19 burden. This response plan, funded by the CARES act, hired English/Marshallese bilingual staff to provide contact tracing, navigation, and other types of response. Staff that were not bilingual participated in cultural humility training.
Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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Peer Review Study
In June 2020, Northwest Arkansas was a COVID-19 hotspot, with serious racial and ethnic disparities. Existing community-engaged partnerships utilized their collaborative capacity to address COVID-19 disparities in the Latinx and Pacific Islander communities. Eighteen key partners held weekly meetings and regular communication and developed four strategies: (1): health education (prevention, testing, quarantine, and follow-up care) and prevention (communication re: practices to reduce risk); (2) testing; (3) a dedicated contact tracing center with bilingual workers; (4) enhanced case management and supported quarantine.
Emerging Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and produce early results that are consistent with the objectives of the activities and thus indicate effectiveness.
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Implementation Guide
This guidebook was designed to increase equity and access in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in Virginia. The guidelines included a health equity framework, recommendations for working with communities, common barriers to COVID-19 testing faced by the most at-risk populations, and how to identify areas with unmet testing needs. Descriptions of how to determine appropriate interventions for testing, contact tracing, and building trusting community relationships are included.
Promising Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities, and are suitable for adaptation by other communities.
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Peer Review Study
The article outlines biomedical, behavioral, and social/structural interventions to improve HIV prevention and treatment in sexual and gender minority Latinx communities. The authors emphasize the need for a combination of these types of interventions in addressing health issues like HIV and COVID-19.
Best Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes when implemented in multiple real-life settings, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities.
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Peer Review Study
This practice traces a 14-year partnership between health institutions and a rural Native Hawaiian community. The partnership began as a single study to study familial cardiomyopathy, then evolved towards a community-based project to improve overall health and wellbeing. As time went on, other institutions and community leaders became involved. The article focuses on the growth of institutional capacity and community service. Lessons learned can serve to engage communities in COVID-19 prevention and mitigation measures.
Best Practices that show evidence of effectiveness in improving public health outcomes when implemented in multiple real-life settings, as indicated by achievement of aims consistent with the objectives of the activities.
RELEASE DATE:
Peer Review Study
The article describes a practice based on training community health workers (CHWs) to present oral health information one-on-one to older Chinese adult patients. More than 98% of participants agreed that CHWs helped them improve their oral health and satisfactorily answered their questions/concerns.