Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
The proposed REACH (Reaching Everyone to Achieve Community Health) program will focus on Northwest Arkansas? (NWA) metropolitan statistical area (MSA) of Benton and Washington County as defined by the Census Bureau?s urbanized areas classification. The target population is Latinx and Marshallese Pacific Islanders within the MSA because they are in the top 4th according to the social vulnerability index (SVI). Specifically, Latinx and Marshallese have very dense and unstable housing with more people than rooms, speak English as a second language with low English proficiency, have low health literacy, and are not being reached through existing public health approaches. The COVID-19 racial/ethnic disparities in the NWA MSA were so stark that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came to NWA to investigate. The CDC?s report documented that 45% of all adult COVID-19 cases in NWA were Latinx, and 19% were Marshallese. Latinx and Marshallese only account for 17% and 1.6% of the region?s population, respectively. COVID-19 deaths in NWA were also disparate across race and ethnicity. Marshallese deaths per 100,000 in NWA were estimated to be 372.4 ? much higher than the overall death ratio of 5.10 per 100,000 and the death ratio for Caucasians of 4.03 per 100,000. The overarching goal of REACH is to leverage our existing network of strong community partners to improve health literacy and reduce health disparities among Latinx and Marshallese communities, populations at highest risk for health disparities. Benton County (Lead Applicant) will work with Washington County, the University of Arkansas for Health Sciences (UAMS), the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB, Minority Serving Institution) and the Northwest Arkansas Council (NWAC) to accomplish the following objectives: (1) Engage REACH partners; (2) Develop and utilize a disparities impact statement; (3) Develop and implement a COVID-19 health literacy plan; (4) Implement a cult urally and linguistically appropriate health information and education campaign that increases appropriate health literacy practices and intervention resources for the Marshallese and Latinx communities.The disparities impact statement will serve as the framework for targeted implementation, monitoring, evaluation, impact, and sustainability of the REACH program. We have developed an evaluation plan in coordination with UAPB (Minority Serving Institution) and UAMS. All outcome measures are linked to the disparities impact statement. We will review progress on process measures monthly and review progress on outcome measures quarterly. UAPB and UAMS will lead the evaluation using the CDC?s Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health. This framework uses a community-engaged approach and includes the full involvement of program partners throughout the evaluation process. The project evaluation will determine whether the REACH intervention was implemented as planned, whether it reached the target population described in the Disparity Impact Statement, and whether there were any changes in the access, use, and outcomes of COVID-19 vaccination, testing, contact tracing, preventive behaviors and if those changes can be attributed to the REACH intervention. The evaluation will provide data stratified by demographic characteristics and tie the valuation to HP 2030.UAMS lead Dr. Pearl McElfish is a national leader in sustainability planning. Using the CDC?s Sustainability Guide, REACH will create a sustainability plan to ensure ongoing adherence to COVID-19 and other future public health recommendations among vulnerable populations.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
