The goal is to strengthen DSHS? public health infrastructure to address COVID-19 health disparities among underserved and higher risk populations, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities. This will be a collaborative effort through coordination of partnerships with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service?s Family and Community Health statewide network, Local Health Departments throughout the Public Health Regions, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the State Office of Rural Health, and Area Health Education Centers.General, priority activities include: ?Facilitating state, regional, and local collaborations to build infrastructure, capacity and services of organizations that serve populations at higher risk and who are underserved, ?Engaging with community to better understand needs that affect their health and well-being, ?Assisting in testing and vaccination awareness, education, and coordination,?Creating a community partnership directory of organizations engaging to address health disparities in their jurisdictions,?Providing chronic disease education and programming in underserved populations and those who have disproportionate rates of chronic disease that increase the severity of COVID-19 infection, ?Designing an intervention aimed to address one of the factors (e.g., diabetes, obesity, food insecurity, housing, etc.) that made the community so vulnerable to the impact of COVID-19 to improve the health of the community in such a way that it will be more resilient to face the next pandemic (or other natural disaster), and?Developing a plan that describes efforts to share and learn information on addressing COVID-19 health disparities among populations at high-risk and underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities. DSHS considers this initial investment to be seed money that will help grow health equity work across the state through authentic community engagement, a doc
umented network of health equity partners, and demonstration projects that highlight what can be accomplished when public health, healthcare, and social services work together on common barriers impeding optimal health and well-being.
