Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
The City of Pine Bluff (Pine Bluff), Arkansas, with a population of 43,840, is defined as an Urban Cluster Area according to the most recent U.S. Census and is the county seat of Jefferson County, which has a population of 64,338. Twenty-nine percent of the residents of Pine Bluff live below the poverty line with an average per-capita income of only $17, 334 14.6% of the population lacks a high school diploma. of those employed, 32%.9 of those unemployed, and 13.5% of those not in the labor force lack health insurance coverage. The predominantly Black (77.9%)[2] population of Pine Bluff has seen drastic and disproportionate detrimental effects as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Arkansas occurred in Pine Bluff and as of 4/19/2021 Jefferson County has an antigen positivity rate of 10.5% and a PCR rate of 8.6%. Overall, Jefferson County has the 6th highest COVID-19 death rate in Arkansas while only being the 11th most populated county. The death rate per-capita in this region is double that of many larger counties with 7 having a population of 200% or more of Jefferson County but a lower COVID-19 death rate. The level of community transmission in Jefferson County is ranked as ?Substantial? according to the CDC COVID-19 Data Tracker. This ranking means there were 50-99.99 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past 7 days and 8-9.99% of NAATs were positive. Meanwhile, only 15% of the population in Jefferson County has been vaccinated. The City of Pine Bluff proposes a multi-level approach working with community organizations, minority serving institutions (MSI), local government agencies, healthcare providers and community ambassadors to develop and implement health literacy strategies that will improve adherence to COVID-19 public health practices and advance Healthy People 2030 objectives within the high-risk and underserved population. This outreach and education intervention will be informed by the Nat ional Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS Standards) and utilize evidence-based strategies for increasing health literacy and education in Black communities such as the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program and will include outreach through trusted members of the community (community ambassadors) such as church elders, barbers and beauty salon owners, college campus organizations, fraternal groups, and community service organizations as well as a multimedia education campaign including radio, television, social medial and presence at community events. In addition to these outreach efforts the proposed program includes quality improvement and evaluation activities to inform program activities and document outcomes and success.
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).