5.3.2021 montana covid-19 health disparities - the montana department of public health and human services (dphhs) will work with local health jurisdictions, the area office of rural health, and…

5.3.2021 montana covid-19 health disparities - the montana department of public health and human services (dphhs) will work with local health jurisdictions, the area office of rural health, and partners to improve covid- 19 testing, case investigation, and contact tracing with populations at high-risk or who are underserved. Target populations including, but not limited to, rural residents, tribal and migrant populations. Dphhs and partners will build a core covid-19 workforce of community health workers (CHW) and community integrated health/community paramedics (CIH/CP) to mitigate care access challenges and social determinants of health to improve outcomes for the target populations. The following outcomes are anticipated by the end of the project:? Reduced covid-19-related health disparities;? Improved/increased testing and contact tracing among target populations;? Improved state, local, and state health department capacity and services to prevent and control covid-19 transmission among target populations;? Increased access to health services for native americans, rural and frontier residents, veterans, migrant populations, homeless population, and those without health insurance;? Sustained best practices that emerged during pandemic;? Increased public health/private provider collaboration and coordination; and? Increased utilization of existing resources, knowledge, and skills to combat covid-19 and health inequities.dphhs will work with partners to address CDC strategies:strategy 1. Expand existing and/or develop new mitigation and prevention resources and services to reduce covid-19 related disparities among populations at higher risk and that are underserved.? Dphhs will survey laboratories to determine the need for additional covid testing equipment, supplies, and training. Based on survey results, testing equipment, supplies and training will be provided to improve access to covid testing. Strategy 2. Increase/improve data collection and reporting for populations experiencing a disp roportionate burden of covid-19 infection, severe illness, and death to guide the response to the covid-19 pandemic.? Modify/develop and deliver training to community health workers (CHW) and community integrated health/community paramedics (CIH/CP) on: understanding and mitigating social determinants of health; collecting, analyzing, and reporting data; understanding and overcoming vaccine hesitancy, best practice for and integration of paraprofessionals as a core covid workforce; and providing training and technical assistance for data collection and reporting with tribal nations. Supervisor training, including simulation training in integration of chws and CIH/CP will also be provided.strategy 3. Build, leverage, and expand infrastructure support for covid-19 prevention and control among populations that are at higher risk and underserved.? Train, deploy, support, and supervise CHW and CIH/CP workers in critical access hospitals (CAH), rural health clinics (RHC), community-based organizations or local public health departments to support target populations with covid testing and contact training, quarantine and isolation, preventive care, disease management, and addressing social determinants of health. Strategy 4. Mobilize partners and collaborators to advance health equity and address social determinants of health as they relate to covid-19 health disparities among populations at higher risk and that are underserved.? Convene stakeholders to: establish a statewide health equity taskforce; provide technical assistance, planning and support to existing multi-sector coalitions to engage in health equity strategies and build upon best practices; and building capacity to sustain paraprofessional utilization in the mitigation of health inequities for those populations that are at higher-risk and underserved.please refer to our detailed grant application for additional information on key partners and activities.