![]() ![]() Their office has committed substantial resources towards outreach and engagement activities to reach people where they are most active in their communities. To increase vaccine trust and accessibility in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the team strengthened connections with small business owners, faith leaders, academia, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other key partners to share vaccine information through as many modes as possible. Monique Anthony, director of the Office of Minority Health, said “Partnering with academic institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities has helped us develop strategies to increase vaccine uptake in the surrounding communities and amplify vaccine confidence.” ![]() The diverse 800-member Health Disparity Task Force is a key vehicle of DHDE to mobilize the delivery of credible information and vaccines directly to community members. (left to right) Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee Francis Garcia, Hispanic Engagement Coordinator and Bill Rawls, Mayor of Brownsville, Tennessee, led a COVID-19 testing event in Brownsville, Tennessee focused on underserved communities. They also enticed the governor to take on an active, supportive role by visiting some of them to stay connected to what is happening on the ground. Together, their efforts led to more testing and vaccination events among people from various racial and ethnic minority groups. Lamar advocates for the interests of people from racial and ethnic minority groups within the governor’s unified command group by elevating community perspectives and Health Disparity Task Force concerns to the highest levels of state government. Kimberly Lamar, assistant commissioner of Division of Disparities Elimination. “There was a lot of misinformation we had to talk through, beginning with testing and eventually vaccination,” said Dr. The DHDE team knew it would be too late to gain trust if they waited to engage and share information with communities until a vaccine was developed. Through hosting listening sessions and town halls for community partners and Task Force members, the DHDE team learned that no matter which group they engaged, they all had questions and concerns about the vaccine. The group meets weekly to discuss trends, hear from subject matter experts, identify sources of distrust, and address concerns from under-resourced communities. The Task Force includes community and faith-based partners, members of academia, healthcare providers, and public health officials. The Health Disparity Task Force aimed to address disparities by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disseminating information to communities they serve. Recognizing the disproportionate impact COVID-19 had on people from racial and ethnic minority groups, the Office of Minority Health within Tennessee Department of Health’s Division of Disparities Elimination (DHDE) convened the COVID-19 Health Disparity Task Force, a group of more than 800 partners across the state. ![]() In Tennessee, 17% of the population are African American however, in the spring of 2020, 20% of COVID-19 cases and 33% of deaths in the states were among Black or African American persons. Community engagement through mobilization (left to right) Monique Anthony, director of the Office of Minority Health Kimberly Lamar, PhD, assistant commissioner of Division of Health Disparities Elimination and Elizabeth Hart, director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Engagement, led a special Juneteenth COVID-19 testing event at multiple locations in Memphis, Tennessee, including First Baptist Church-Broad. ![]()
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