Institute for Public Health Innovation’s Post

New Resources: Health Equity Performance Measures and Toolkit for Community Health Workers In 2023, NACCHO funded the Center for Public Health Systems (CPHS) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health to create a toolkit to increase LHDs’ capacity to define, measure, and track progress toward health equity as a part of their performance improvement. To best inform creation of a useful toolkit, CPHS first conducted an environmental scan in February and March of 2023 of peer-reviewed literature and plans written by public health departments. Next, CPHS held three listening sessions in January and February 2024 with professionals from LHDs across the country. The goal of the listening sessions was to understand LHDs’ working definitions of health equity, their HEPM strategies, and their data sources. Thirdly, much of the content included in this toolkit builds on Measuring What Matters in Public Health, published by NACCHO in 2018. This report provides guidance on building a performance management system, supplemented with templates, worksheets, and stories from the field. We add to this report by focusing specifically on performance measurement (an aspect of performance management) of health equity. Check out these four new resources in a NACCHO blog post here: https://lnkd.in/exztRDRe #PublicHealth #CommunityHealthWorkers #HealthEquity

Principles of Trustworthiness Toolkit: "These 10 Principles of Trustworthiness integrate local perspectives with established precepts of community engagement to guide health care, public health, and other organizations as they work to demonstrate they are worthy of trust. The AAMC Center for Health Justice will continue this work to support organizations right now and in the future as they partner with communities and the many sectors that serve them to develop ways to shift our society toward health equity and justice." https://lnkd.in/gzNm9UvV

Patricia Nickel, Ph.D., and I recently published an article titled "Community Engagement, Equity, and Cross-Sector Public Health Practice." This article aims to improve understanding of community engagement and health equity in the context of cross-sector governance for public health. Whether you're a public health practitioner, researcher, or passionate about creating equitable communities, the article offers valuable perspectives and practical approaches. It's definitely worth checking out.

🚀 Community Health Workers (CHWs) are breaking barriers to healthcare access. This article from Tufts University highlights the critical role CHWs play in connecting underserved populations to essential healthcare services. By addressing both clinical and social needs, CHWs are improving health outcomes in communities nationwide. 🏥 Learn how CHWs are reshaping access to care. https://hubs.la/Q02PRQvT0 #CommunityHealth #CHWs #HealthcareAccess #SDoH #CareCoordination

Some of the keynotes from today’s class on “The Importance of Community Health Literacy Leadership” by the DG of West African Institute of Public Health, Dr Francis O. Empowering individuals with good health literacy enables them to make informed decisions about their well-being and that of their loved ones. Health literacy is crucial for community empowerment, allowing people to navigate and manage their health effectively. Continuous reinforcement and dissemination of health information within communities is vital for better retention and recall. Regularly reinforcing key health literacy concepts promotes overall well-being and improves health outcomes. Moreover, the world faces a dual public health crisis: antibiotic resistance and low health literacy. These interconnected issues exacerbate each other, posing significant threats to global health. Low health literacy hinders prevention efforts, widens health disparities, and undermines public health initiatives. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approach that prioritizes public health education, community engagement, and collaborative action. By tackling antibiotic resistance and low health literacy, we can mitigate their impact and protect global health. #WAIPH #publichealth #HLLP #Globalhealth

As California works to create a more equitable and culturally responsive health care system, the integration of community health workers, promotores, and representatives (CHW/P/Rs) is at the heart of achieving that vision.   I had the opportunity testify alongside some incredible partners at a recent joint informational hearing with the Assembly Health Committee and Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 about the bright spots and barriers to unleashing the full potential of our CHW/P/R workforce.   Despite CHW/P/R services becoming a recognized Medi-Cal benefit in 2022, challenges related to sustainable financing and program integration are making it difficult to sustainably scale the CHW/P/R workforce. These barriers need to be overcome so that the state's vision can be realized and CHW/P/Rs can amplify their work to improve the health and well-being of our communities - particularly people with low-incomes, people of color and immigrants.   Learn more in our latest CHCF blog about what’s needed to support CHW/P/Rs and the communities they serve: https://lnkd.in/gcT9mCfv   #HealthEquity #MediCal #HealthWorkforce Lisa Murawski Alex Fajardo Andrea Mackey Mayra E Alvarez Maria Lemus Dr. Seciah Aquino Dantia Hudson, MPH Thu Quach Katie Andrew California Rural Indian Health Board El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center Latino Coalition for a Healthy California California Pan-Ethnic Health Network The Children's Partnership (TCP) Vision y Compromiso

This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of regional management practices that could support primary health care service performance in the context of the innovative community engagement model implemented through the unique program with embedded mechanisms for accountability. https://lnkd.in/guCZEfqf

New study in #HSR from Lisa Angus MPH et al describe the impact of Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) on organizational and community partnerships and explore how ACHs contribute to systems change. WHAT IS KNOWN Coalitions such as Accountable Communities for Health (ACHs) can foster new or more diverse partnerships and increase alignment between organizations and across sectors. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS ACHs in California spurred new organizational connections, strengthened organizations' ability to work together, and increased focus on community engagement and equity but made less progress on community ownership. CONCLUSION The ACH model is effective at strengthening organizational partnerships and catalyzing other systems changes and precursors including enhanced knowledge, increased capacity, more collaborative ways of working, and new funding. Read full article here: FULL ARTICLE: https://lnkd.in/gW-KgMUU #HealthServicesResearch  Georgia Health Policy Center  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  AcademyHealth  Wiley 

Here's your chance to learn more about health equity from organizations on the front lines! See what they have to say and how it can help your patients - then reach out to Aqueduct to learn how we can impact your underserved patients as well! #healthequity #patientcare

Great insights shared this morning by a powerful panel of local leaders on the Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology Future of Health and Wellness discussion on #Housing as #Healthcare! Animated by Algonquin President Claude Brule, the panelists were able to paint a realistic portrait while also spark hope and motivation. The last question was critical and focused on “key system wide opportunities”: Mark MacAulay MA CCC RP, Ottawa Salus: “…(what we need is) COLLAB 2.0 rather than competing for funding. (A great example of this is) Ottawa Public Health - Santé publique Ottawa demonstrating the next level leadership needed for a preventative system”. Kelli Tonner, South-East Ottawa Community Health Centre: “(To do all of this, we need) strong community leadership, using the same language and key messages to their respective funders to push them to get organized”. Tim Aubry, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch: “One of the biggest projectors of homelessness is access to primary care. (This) speaks to the need for crossing the sectors. We need to get the ministries to work together”. Integration of systems accross ministries and jurisdictions is the solution. It starts at the local level, with authentic multisectorial collaboration. #OHTs can help move this forward. #OntarioHealthTeams