Find Resources
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.
RELEASE DATE:
Case Study
This case study presents the adaptations made to existing infrastructure by the Penn State Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) and Better Together REACH (a community–academic coalition using grant funds from Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) to address the needs of 2 Latinx communities in Pennsylvania due to disparities. Better Together REACH has leveraged strong community collaborations to implement locally tailored practice-based and evidence-based strategies aimed at increasing healthy nutrition programming, physical activity opportunities, and diabetes prevention programs. This initiative brings together more than 60 local organizations that are now working together to break down silos, share a common agenda to address health disparities, and improve community wellness and the quality of life for all their residents. The partnership was leveraged in 2020 for conducting outreach to Latinx communities, developing educational material and resources related to COVID-19 in Spanish, and organizing informational webinars in Spanish.
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:
Case Study
This case study describes how the Student Response Team (SRT) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center assisted the local health departments in mitigation and response activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The SRT was a voluntary student-led effort that assisted in health contact tracing, monitoring social media, and education the public. Their experience demonstrates how students can increase the public health surge capacity of local health departments while gaining applied experience during public health emergencies. The recommendations include forming, training, and deploying SRTs throughout academic institutions to implement during and beyond the current 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.
RELEASE DATE:
Peer Review Study
This article describes an emergency preparedness strategy within an existing community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership among African-American churches to disseminate accurate COVID-19 information: The FAITH! (Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health) program, an academic–community partnership between Mayo Clinic and local African American churches. The authors were guided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication framework to conduct a needs assessment, distribute emergency preparedness manuals, and deliver COVID-19–related messaging among African-American churches via electronic communication platforms. A needs assessment showed that the top 3 church emergency resource needs were financial support, food and utilities support, and COVID-19 health information CBPR partnerships leveraged to promote emergency preparedness and communicate risk among under-resourced communities during a pandemic.
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
This article describes a community-based participatory research initiative based on an existing community–academic partnership. Partners included the University of Arkansas, nonprofit organizations serving the Marshallese and Latinx communities, community-based nonprofit organizations, local hospital systems, a federally qualified health center, the Veteran Health Administration, the Arkansas Department of Health, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands consulate. The partnerships were leveraged to develop and implement the Comprehensive Intervention to Reduce COVID-19 Disparities in Marshallese and Latinx Communities in Benton and Washington counties. The comprehensive intervention consisted of 4 components: (1) health education, (2) testing, (3) contact tracing, and (4) care navigation (case management) for supported quarantine. After implementation of the comprehensive intervention, the proportions of new weekly cases among Marshallese and Latinx residents declined and began to align more closely with the proportions of Marshallese and Latinx community members in the 2 counties.
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:
Peer Review Study
The West Greenville Health Council (WGHC) engaged and activated a 27-member organizational partnership network for COVID-19 health communication and personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution in African American communities in Eastern North Carolina. Outreach included (1) local production and dissemination of culturally relevant safety videos; (2) risk, prevention, and safety postcard messages; (3) virtual forums; and (4) PPE kit distribution via the network and their distribution venues. Communication mediums included social media posts, network email distribution lists, and postcards distributed along with PPE kits. An online survey was used to gain insights on community perceptions of COVID-19 safety barriers and media messages. The activation of the network as an approach for rapid response to an emerging public health crisis greatly expanded the reach of the WGHC. The WGHC is working to institutionalize the network to address future emerging health threats, as well as the dissemination of health information more generally.
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
This multidisciplinary vaccine delivery strategy was implemented by the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs (VA) facility to mitigate inequities in COVID-19 vaccination among veterans. The practice, which followed the Equitable Vaccine Framework, was put in place in the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and entailed targeted outreach to individual patients based on a score consisting of the sum of risk factors for severe COVID-19 disease and high-risk race or ethnicity. The strategy included four main domains: allocation, outreach, delivery, and monitoring. The care system conducted sequential outreach using multiple communication modalities, worked with community partners to publicize and deploy mobile clinics to underserved areas, and monitored vaccination coverage rates by age, race, sex, and rural status at prespecified intervals and adjusted operations to ensure equity. During the vaccine drive, vaccination rates were higher among Black, multiracial, and Hispanic veterans, compared with white veterans.
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:
Case Study
The case study outlines how Lake County Health Department (LCHD) in Illinois created a health equity team whose job included facilitating relationships with community and agency partners. The case study includes examples of how the team created tools to increase awareness within LCHD of the impact of social determinants on health. For the team, LCHD specifically prioritized candidates who had lived experience in historically vulnerable communities and those who were used to multicultural bridging.
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:
Case Study
This case study outlines how the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) in Ohio helped to found, coordinate, and facilitate a multisectoral consortium that created a Community Health Improvement Plan for the county. The consortium also implemented trainings on equity. The CCBH’s participation in the consortium helped bring equity to the front of CCBH’s strategic plan.
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:
Peer Review Study
The article presents strategies of how Durham County Department of Public Health operationalized equity into multiple phases of its COVID-19 response through infrastructure changes and how to apply these methods to future public health emergencies to better serve vulnerable populations. This response relied upon robust data collection of demographic data to identify inequities. Infrastructure changes included standing up multiple COVID-19 Task Forces (Homeless, Community, Food Security, African American) and Strike Teams (Long-Term Care Facility, Clusters) targeting vulnerable populations; placing testing sites in targeted locations; collaborating with multisector and community partners for feedback; and providing Health Ambassadors for in-person dissemination of COVID-19 information. The paper reviews results from these interventions and lessons learned.
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:
Peer Review Study
This article reviews systemic factors affecting low income immigrant communities during COVID-19 and provides recommendations strategies to improve public health infrastructure using the Public Health 3.0 concept. This high-risk community represented a large portion of essential workers, who even before the pandemic faced less access to health care and were structurally marginalized. The authors discuss equity strategies including prioritizing COVID-19 public relief funds and allocating testing and vaccines to these communities. The paper also reviews how to improve public health infrastructure to mitigate disparities immigrant communities face by addressing social determinants of health, communicating about and structuring policies and programs that do not require identification, engaging cross-sector stakeholders, and developing tools to collect relevant, appropriate data.