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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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Summary Report/Recommendations, White Paper/Brief
Community fridges were popularized in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic: community fridge database Freedge showed 12 US fridges in March 2020, and 160 by February 2021. These fridges are open 24/7 and anyone can access them, freely taking or leaving fresh food. Fridges are tailored to the needs of the neighborhood, and operate either more informally among community members, or with 501(c)(3) status and donation partnerships with local grocery stores or organizations. The fridges have been anecdotally successful in increasing food access while complying with Covid safety protocols.
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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Systematic Review/Meta-Analysis
In an effort to help build the evidence base around social determinants of health (SDOH), the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) engaged RAND in a project to evaluate the current evidence from programs and policies targeting SDOH and identify research questions, data sources, and data gaps. RAND used a multi-methods approach that included an environmental scan of the published and gray literature of SDOH interventions; key informant interviews with subject matter experts; and a convening of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agencies and operating divisions to review the results of the environmental scan and offer insights on findings.
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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Blog
This blog, the second in a two-part series, provides a high-level overview of a range of state-level measures currently housed on SHADAC’s online data tool, State Health Compare, which may help states understand and track trends across indicators of health equity, such as health behaviors, health outcomes, and social and economic factors.
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.
RELEASE DATE:
Blog
This blog, the first in a two-part series, provides a high-level overview of a range of state-level measures currently housed on SHADAC’s online data tool, State Health Compare, which may help states understand and track trends across indicators of health equity — such as health insurance coverage, healthcare access and affordability, and quality of care.
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
This brief describes work to partner health departments with community organizing groups, focusing on a collaboration between Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and two community organizations. These partnerships allow health departments to actively address power imbalances that may decrease community trust in health departments. The Santa Barbara Public Health Department developed an analysis of power and worked directly with grassroots organizers. To build trust, the health department undertook many actions, including sharing organizational charts, explaining decisions, facilitating personal sharing and trust exercises, spending time together, discussing structural racism, and more. During COVID-19, these partners shared information targeted towards those with various languages and literacy levels.
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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White Paper/Brief
This article describes strategies to address social determinants of health (SDoH) and recommendations to reduce disparities based on the health justice framework. The health justice framework offers three principles: structural, supportive, and empowering. First, legal and policy responses must address the structural determinants of health. Second, interventions mandating healthy behaviors must be accompanied by material support and legal protections to enable compliance while minimizing harm. Third, historically marginalized communities must be engaged and empowered as leaders in the development and implementation of interventions and the attainment of health justice. The article applies this framework to the following SDoH: discrimination, poverty, health care, housing, and employment.
Novel Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and are in the process of generating evidence of effectiveness or may not yet be tested.
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White Paper/Brief
This article details how the Rhode Island Department of Health built its community-level COVID-19 response from existing capacities and networks through its Health Equity Zone Initiative. The initiative is a place-based, community-level model that brings a range of community members together to address pressing health issues and build capacity for systemic changes surrounding the social determinants of health. The state has used federal pandemic relief funds to expand the Health Equity Zone Initiative by providing resources to community partners, social service agencies, and grassroots organizations to be engaged in the pandemic response. The initiative’s partners provided critical community-based services including COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, quarantine and isolation supports, distribution of masks and other personal protective equipment, and direct outreach and education by community health workers and community outreach specialists.
Novel Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and are in the process of generating evidence of effectiveness or may not yet be tested.
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White Paper/Brief
This article describes how the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Health Equity Response Team, which is made up of more than 100 community partners, helps implement recommendations from the task force. The team meets every two weeks to address health inequities associated with COVID-19. Over the past 18 months the team has led initiatives to serve vulnerable populations. Initiatives such as faith-based vaccine sites, immigrant testing access, mobile community testing options, and agricultural worker testing bolstered the department’s response to COVID-19. The team facilitated community partnerships that drove personal protection equipment distribution, investigation of improved paid sick family/medical leave options, and the digital clemency process in the corrections field. The team also spawned the department’s efforts around improved race and ethnicity data enrichment, assessment, and reporting improvements.
Novel Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and are in the process of generating evidence of effectiveness or may not yet be tested.
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White Paper/Brief
This article describes how Virginia collected and reported data to inform COVID-19 response efforts and decisions. Virginia officials noted a hallmark of Virginia’s success has been the focus on data strategies and mapping techniques to identify COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and resource allocation priorities. For example, the working group used geospatial data to inform the distribution process for a personal protective equipment (PPE) pilot program that successfully distributed more than two million units of PPE across 66 local governments. The task force uses data stratified by race and ethnicity, medical vulnerability, and other social and environmental factors to identify locations for community engagement, outreach, testing, and vaccination clinics. The task force also launched two equity dashboards to provide a transparent measurement of ways COVID-19 resources have been allocated and equity gaps across various social determinants of health identified in Virginia House Joint Resolution 537.
Novel Practices that show potential to achieve desirable public health outcomes in a specific real-life setting and are in the process of generating evidence of effectiveness or may not yet be tested.
RELEASE DATE:
White Paper/Brief
This article describes how Wisconsin is implementing a Just Recovery Framework. It is a task force focused on recommendations for a fair and just recovery from the pandemic and embedding racial and rural equity in future emergency preparedness infrastructure. The task force reviewed existing literature and research and developed a strategic plan, including evidence-based policy and practice interventions to support just recovery after COVID-19. This plan offers practical guidance for local and state officials to address the pandemic and existing inequities exacerbated by the pandemic along the lines of racial equity, rural equity and worker health.