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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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Toolkit
This worksheet offers a user guide to developing and disseminating messages about public health’s importance and successes. It is a short resource developed by the Illinois Strategic Communication Leadership Project, intended to help users organize thinking and identify themes. It offers a few examples of overarching messages concerning the importance of public health as a field.
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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Other
This episode from the podcast 99 Percent Invisible reflects on how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the American public to a long-standing problem: the disjointed nature of the U.S. health system. Because state and local health departments largely operate independently and use their own data collection and analysis tools, health systems across the country lack standardized data definitions and systems. These inconsistencies made it nearly impossible to collect and analyze comprehensive, standardized data on COVID-19 cases, deaths, and vaccines administered amid the pandemic. Health experts featured on this episode believe that the pandemic made the need for an overhaul of America’s informatics system very apparent. When rebuilding this system, it’s important to focus on remedying existing inequalities in data collection and classification that in some cases render the health status of certain populations – think Native American communities and other communities of color – completely invisible in the data. By virtue of being small populations, it can be difficult for health departments to collect sufficient and/or statistically significant data on minority communities. Another issue discussed in this episode is the use of broad racial categories like “other,” “multiple races,” or even “Asian American,” which, if not disaggregated, obscures the health status of diverse populations who are grouped under the same category. Without comprehensive and inclusive health data, it’s difficult to identify disparities and implement policies and programming that promote social mobility and health equity.
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:
Other
The article discusses the challenges and frustrations surrounding Long COVID research in the United States. Despite substantial investments and numerous research efforts, progress in understanding and treating Long COVID has been slow and disappointing. Experts and patient advocates have criticized the research community for its focus on disease development rather than direct patient care, duplication of studies, and a lack of clinical trials. The authors propose a new hypothesis that Long COVID may be a form of post-infectious syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome, suggesting that traditional biomedical research approaches may not yield meaningful results. Instead, they advocate for a shift towards health services research and measures that directly impact patients’ welfare, including prevention, improved prognosis, access to empathetic care, and quality of life issues. They emphasize the need for collaboration between researchers, patients, and advocacy groups to reset the research agenda effectively.
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
The Framework for an Equitable COVID-19 Homelessness Response offers guidance on utilizing funding sources like the CARES Act to address homelessness during the pandemic. It aims to conduct emergency measures while planning for recovery. The framework emphasizes racial justice and requires coordination among partners and systems. It is regularly updated and provides tools and resources. For individuals experiencing homelessness, local 2-1-1 hotlines can provide assistance.
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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Case Study
A large school district in Cincinnati partnered with their local health department and children’s hospital to develop mitigation procedures as children returned to school. These mitigation procedures successfully limited school-based spread of COVID-19 by combining best practices in rapid testing, contact tracing, and early isolation. Procedures were regularly revisited and updated in an iterative process to respond to new information and circumstances.
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
The Oregon county with the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the United States began its response in the earliest days of the pandemic. The county’s Emergency Operations Center wanted to center equity in its response and did so by rapidly creating new positions on the team: an Equity Officer, an Equity Technical Advisor, and a Language Access Coordinator. It also established an Equity Team within the center. This allowed responses to quickly identify and respond to population needs, especially those in communities of color experiencing disproportionate impacts of disease spread and burden.
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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Case Study
This article discusses the process used by the New York City Health Department to prioritize populations for access to the first round of COVID-19 vaccines. The city’s process was guided by input gathered during five public meetings. During these meetings, participants emphasized the need to prioritize health equity, examining the broad swatch of personal and societal factors that make people more or less susceptible to severe COVID-19 disease.
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:
Toolkit
Lead Local was a collaborative research project between Human Impact Partners and the Right to the City Alliance. The research focused on community power-building and its potential to address social inequities that drive health outcomes. This project was not specific to COVID-19, but its findings apply to disease response and resiliency. It found that community power-building must be central to decision-making processes for true transformation.
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 article discusses what can be learned from the response to COVID-19 within the United States-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPIs). Rates of COVID-19 in this region were much lower than those in the mainland US, despite fewer public health resources. The article credits this to strong partnership and collaboration with neighboring islands, the mainland US, and the federal government; strong regional information sharing; creating and nurturing local and regional trust; and trust regionally; and decisive and aggressive quarantine practices.
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:
Toolkit
This guide from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation offers best practices and suggestions in how people can frame discussions on health equity and social determinants. Its focus is on effective rhetoric. This includes the use of accessible language to talk about disparities, leading with arguments that your audience is likely to find agreeable, and focusing messaging on one or two compelling facts.