Identifying Emergency Information Needs and Communication Channels for Reaching At-Risk Populations with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) – Adapting Findings for Local Public Health

This fixed-price contract action was awarded on a sole-source basis pursuant to FAR 6.302-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

To address the need for evidence-based insights for improving public health emergency risk communication efforts for people with LEP, in 2018, CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) funded a multi-method research effort to examine the needs and preferences of the two most common language groups in the U.S. other than English—Spanish, accounting for ~60%, and Chinese, 12% (Mandarin or Cantonese) of people with LEP—and to develop recommendations for public health communicators. The original project, awarded to researchers at the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, used a rigorous mixed-methods design that aimed to understand the preferences, needs and challenges of persons with LEP in accessing and understanding information during a large-scale, emergency-level infectious disease outbreak. It incorporated the views of persons with LEP as well as persons who will likely assist them in collecting or interpreting health information during a public health emergency and can provide complementary perspectives: family, physicians, and staff at LHDs.

The purpose of the original project was on developing recommendations for federal public health communicators. It included data collection from LHDs to provide insights about the concerns they have. Given the Federal focus, however, the project did not include the development of tailored recommendations for LHDs. As the work proceeded, though, early findings (unpublished) suggested that Federally-focused recommendations did not readily and directly apply to the LHD context. For example, while Federal communicators can focus on developing relationships with large national and international media outlets, LHDs are more likely to be connected to local media outlets. Moreover, many of the LHDs are even more connected with community-based organizations (CBOs) to reach people with LEP. These channels of connection have been more disrupted than the Federal media channels, since community centers, faith organizations, and other social support groups are so directly impacted by local closure policies and economic consequences of outbreaks. It is critical to ensure that recommendations for communications address these and other distinct needs of local communicators. More effective communication support for people with LEP means public health communicators must be able to develop messaging approaches that are linguistically and culturally appropriate and address the health protection information needs and preferences of the communities they serve. That information works best when provided by sources that members of these communities’ trust and in a way that is consistent with community values, norms, knowledge, and behaviors, which is often locally driven.

This contract shall leverage information and insights gained from the original project to adapt and build more robust recommendations that address the unique needs and opportunities for LEP communication in the LHD context, pilot test the recommendations with LHD communicators through direct technical support and collaboration, and ensure their applicability and utility by providing feedback on and assessments of the adaptations. The final deliverables
shall be a set of evidence-based recommendations for LHD communicators on reaching people with LEP in their communities.
 

Awarded contract 75D301-21-C-11808 to PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE for 698305.00 on 2021-09-10.