The local health department (LHD) should have a role in the practice’s development and/or implementation. Additionally, the practice should demonstrate broad-based strategic engagement and collaboration with community members and partners, such as government, the public, directly impacted persons, business, healthcare, and other sectors with the goal of acting on root cause/upstream factors that can reduce health inequities. If the practice is internal to the LHD, it should demonstrate equitable engagement within the agency (i.e., other LHD staff) and other outside entities. For example, seeking to hire or engage the leadership and expertise of staff that are representative of the populations being served and/or who have direct experience with the problem being addressed. The implementation strategy should include outlined, actionable steps, and be responsive to the needs of the community throughout the pandemic.
Please include the following in your response:
Planning and implementation process.
The Community Partner Plan was conceived by members of the IMT Planning Team, led and staffed by the Public Health and Wellness Center for Health Equity staff. Implementation began with recruiting community partners representative of communities with lowest vaccination rates and highest rates of COVID (Black and Brown people, immigrants and refugees, and LGBTQ). More than 25 partner organizations contracted to help their communities navigate the vaccination process, host a mobile clinic for their communities, and conduct a listening session to identify community needs and barriers to vaccinations.
Equipping partners for successful listening sessions included hosting virtual discussions and training sessions, and weekly email and/or phone communications. The partner made logistical arrangements for their listening session(s). Listening Session team members connected with the Communications Department to arrange a medical provider fitting the needs of the partner community. They also attended the event to assist with facilitation and note-taking as needed. Listening Session notes were compiled and shared with IMT leadership to ensure that community input was factored into decisions about IMT operations and communications.
What were the goals of the practice and the steps taken to achieve them?
The goal of the Community Partnership plan was to increase vaccination rates by partnering with and funding local organizations to engage and educate residents regarding vaccination. As one of four components to the partnership work, listening sessions were facilitated with 17 partners, guiding questions and documenting responses. Responses were assessed for themes and categorized according to immediate needs as well as long-term partnerships and collaboration. Notes were taken at each listening session, and those were compiled and shared with leaders in IMT and the Center for Health Equity.
What role did the community / partners have in the planning process?
The Listening Session team supported listening sessions that ranged from live outdoor events to podcasts to surveying recipients of goods and services by mutual aid societies. Community partners planned their events using tools to best meet the needs of their community. For example, a local radio personality hosted a live show on a Saturday morning. One leader hosted a breakfast event at a HUD senior apartment complex.
What role did the community / partners have in the implementation process?
Partners hosted events based on their knowledge and understanding of what would work best to reach their communities. Additionally, they specified the type of medical expert to be recruited by Public Health to have speak with and respond to the partner audience, examples included an LGBTQ ally, Black physician or nurse practitioner, and a native Spanish speaker.
What does the LHD do to foster collaboration or build community power with community stakeholders? We learned through listening sessions and other partner communications that partners wanted to work more collectively. Several partners collaborated with grassroots community organizations for their COVID vaccine and testing contracts. And in a post-partnership discussion, multiple participants voiced the need for a shared collaborative space for ongoing work. Project leaders of local public health work funded by ARPA are connecting with COVID partners to engage them in planning and executing community-centric work.
Describe the relationship(s) and how it furthers the practice goal(s). Encouraging the development of collaboration between partners further built the grassroots network required to meet the needs of local community members.
Any new or “unexpected” partnerships created to plan / implement this practice? Partners were invited to participate in several other paid COVID projects, included hosting and distributing Say Yes to COVID Test kits, hosting listening sessions about vaccinations of children and youth, and creating mental health programming in communities hard hit by COVID. Public Health has contracted with a COVID partner, local influencer and nonprofit owner in Louisville’s Black Community, Antonio T-Made Taylor, to host a new podcast, “Real Talk with T-Made Taylor,” on the iHeart radio network. T-Made's podcast addresses COVID and health, as well as other issues of interest to the Black community.
How did these innovative partnerships benefit the process? The integration of input from COVID partners and listening session participants has normalized the community’s role in advising culturally competent operations. The IMT team responds ongoing to requests from partners to pivot on issues like including testing at vaccination sites and having partners host consistent mobile vaccination clinics.
How were these partnerships leveraged to incorporate health equity strategies into the program or practice and/or address root cause/upstream factors health inequities in the community? State the partnerships and collaboration related to your practice. Listening Sessions created partnerships within the larger COVID partner plan, and they resulted in the voices of grassroots community members being heard by pandemic response leaders up to the Office of the Mayor. Many of the issues raised and questions asked during listening session Q&A highlighted the lack of trust between communities most impacted by COVID inequities, local government and health care systems. Public Health and Wellness wants to continue to build power by engaging citizens decision-making roles within workgroups, advisory boards, and programs. Accordingly, we developed a leadership position--Community Engagement Manager—to advance and expand this work.