CPIMP211273

Wayne County Health Catalysts for COVID Care (Community, Access, Response & Equity) - As of April 2021, Michigan leads the U.S. in rates of COVID-19 infections, positive tests, and hospitalizations per 100,000 people. The COVID-19 positivity rate is 18.6% in Wayne County (WC), the state's most populous county. In WC, 27% of people have received one vaccination dose; this rate is 5% among Black persons.

The pandemic has revealed disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations, which comprise 50% of the project's total target population of 160,567 people across nine cities. Black residents make up 14% of Michigan's population but 43% of COVID-19 deaths, a rate four times greater than that of white populations. Among Hispanics, rates of infection are twice as high as for white residents. Arab and other immigrant populations comprise 15.3% of Wayne County's population. Arabs comprise 1.5% of Michigan's population and 3% of coronavirus deaths. Because the U.S. Census classifies Middle Eastern and other ethnicities as "white," infection rates are unreported among these communities.

COVID-19 infection rates are five times higher among the majority Black population (72%) of Wayne County's jail population than in other groups. Persistent structural inequities, including racism and xenophobia, have caused social vulnerability among minority populations in Wayne County, leaving them more at risk of COVID-19. Nearly 1 in 3 people in the target areas lives in poverty with low rates of college education, and 9% do not have health insurance. Black, Hispanic, and immigrant people often cannot easily protect themselves from infections by socially distancing due to frontline jobs that cannot be performed at home and overcrowded housing; the number of persons per room in these cities ranges from 2.23 to 3.48. Incarceration also prevents social distancing.

In the focus area, 20% of residents speak a language other than English. Black, Hispanic, and immigrant communities often distrust government and medical institutions due to a history of healthcare malpractice, not being taken seriously by doctors, and fear of sharing private information that may be misused. Language and literacy barriers restrict access to vital health messaging that is often confusing, written for college-level literacy, and only in English. There is a need to deliver accessible culturally and linguistically responsive services to minority and jail populations experiencing health disparities, to increase access to, acceptance, and use of COVID-19 testing, tracing, and vaccination measures. Our project's health literacy strategies are designed to do this.

A diverse multilingual Partner Advisory Committee comprised of eleven health, academic, and community partners has the expertise, cultural competence, and resources to create and disseminate culturally and linguistically tailored communications written in plain and multiple languages. Bilingual community health workers, faith leaders, and volunteers who share cultural values and experiences of targeted populations will be trained in health literacy practices. Leveraging social networks to deliver key messages via social media, flyers, webinars, and events, they will help persuade people to get tested and vaccinated. They will refer those without a primary care provider to federally qualified health centers for free care. Health centers will be assessed for health literacy and offered training to address gaps. A health literacy curriculum will be created and translated for adult education and ESL classes. A web repository of COVID-19 communications will be created for wide access and dissemination.

Results from evaluation of data from focus groups, surveys, and vaccination records, along with continuous quality improvement, will be used to assess project efforts, make improvements, and promote sustainability of effective health literacy practices. With project results and committed leadership, Wayne County's health infrastructure and

County Of Wayne

NOT APPLICABLE

93.137 - Community Programs to Improve Minority Health Grant Program

HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) [HHS]

Office of Minority Health (OMH) [HHS - OASH]

Wayne, Michigan United States

City-Wide

Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 (MP-CPI-21-006)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 06/30/23 to 06/30/24 and the total obligations have decreased 39% from $3,919,116 to $2,398,002.