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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.
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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Summary Report/Recommendations
This article describes structural barriers contributing to inequitable health outcomes for people living with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides policy recommendations (based on Canadian examples) to address structural barriers that exacerbated the effects of the pandemic on people living with dementia.
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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Evaluation Report, Peer Review Study
The article evaluates the connection between health care workers’ unions and Covid-19 mortality rates in nursing homes. Using regression analysis, the presence of a union were associated with lower Covid-19 mortality rates (30% lower) and infection rates (42% lower) among nursing home residents. Nursing homes with unions saw increased access to N95 respirators and eye shields as well. These results ultimately show that health care worker unionization may better ensure access to appropriate PPE and infection control policies that will protect nursing home residents.
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
This study examines the challenges of using community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 brings unique challenges to this approach due to social distancing and the closure of key community organizations. They identify three key challenges: flexibility to pivot when needed, inequity in research participation, and the well-being of the research team. The study focuses on impacts for immigrant and communities of color and examines intersectionality’s with age and gender.
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 resource makes recommendations related to establishing crisis stabilization systems for persons living with mental illness. This article describes how pandemic-related changes and funding increases can be leveraged to strengthen statewide crisis stabilization systems for individuals living with mental illness and substance use disorder, including recommendations for specific stakeholders to engage and action steps. The practice strategy this article is focused on is policy and organizational change to improve public health infrastructure.
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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Summary Report/Recommendations
This resources summarizes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use and the experiences of people who used drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights include: the pandemic increased the risk of overdose for people who use drugs, and in response people who use drugs reported using more harm reduction strategies. The pandemic also motivated change in wanting to quit drug use for study participants, but also highlighted the social determinants of health as barriers to sustainable recovery.
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
This article describes the impact of COVID-19-specific adaptations at two sites delivering a federally funded substance use treatment program for people living with or at-risk of HIV in Massachusetts. The success of the adaptations varied based on the site. For example, the transition to telemedicine was successful at the STI clinic, but not the community-based organization. However, the article does identify some adaptations that were successful in each setting, and the authors report process outcomes for these adaptations. The practice strategy this article is focused on is continuity of care for people with substance use disorder who are living with or at-risk of HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
This article describes the implementation of a medical student-run, free virtual clinic providing medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) in Miami, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility criteria for accessing services through the clinic included Florida residency and an income below 200% of the federal poverty level. The article describes how the students promoted the clinic, the process for providing MAT virtually (under supervision of an attending physician), patient characteristics, and reports process evaluation data for the clinic. The practice strategy this article is focused on is access to MAT for people with OUD during the COVID-19 pandemic.