NH75OT000028

North Carolina Re: National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities - NC DHHS has been working with urgency and purpose to slow the spread of COVID-19, address inequities exacerbated by the pandemic, and work towards recovery. Health equity is a foundational value of NC DHHS. These funds allow DHHS to amplify efforts to address health disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic for historically marginalized populations, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities.

Strategy 1: Expanding Health Equity Resources & Services will focus on:

- Capacity building for local health departments to create a health equity infrastructure for their COVID-19 response strategies.
- Increasing the ability of health programs to connect to needs like transportation, housing, and food.
- Addressing major public health issues that either exacerbate the risks of COVID-19, such as smoking, or that have been accentuated as a result of COVID-19, such as mental health, with a focus on historically marginalized populations.
- Targeting particularly high-risk groups, such as incarcerated women and people with substance use disorders, with COVID-19-related public health resources.

Strategy 2: Improving Health Equity Data and Reporting will focus on:

- Investing in foundational data infrastructure and skills to measure health disparities and share aggregated data publicly to inform public health action.
- Building a centralized health equity data program for the gathering, analyzing, and sharing of public health data to protect the health of all citizens, with an emphasis on historically marginalized populations.

Strategy 3: Augmenting Critical Health Equity Infrastructure will focus on:

- Engaging a coalition of multi-sector stakeholders that include members of underserved rural communities and organizations to increase access to critical COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and other supportive services.
- Augmenting health equity staffing to coordinate efforts across DPH and with local health departments and create performance management systems with a health equity lens.

Strategy 4: Partner Mobilization will focus on:

- Supporting community-based organizations and rural health providers' use of NCCARE360, NC's closed-loop resource referral platform.
- Supporting communities in each of the 8 NC Prosperity Zones to create community changes that support healthy living.
- Funding 20 community-based and faith-based organizations across NC to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate COVID-19 services and information to build trust and capacity in communities.
- Expanding communications resources to reach people where they are through people and channels that they trust, with a focus on American Indian, people with disabilities, and Spanish-speaking populations.

These funded activities will achieve reduced COVID-19-related health disparities and improved state and local capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 among populations at higher risk and that are underserved, including racial and ethnic minorities and rural communities.

North Carolina Department Of Health & Human Services

NOT APPLICABLE

93.354 - Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response

CDC Office of Financial Resources (OFR) [HHS - CDC]

Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) [HHS - CDC]

North Carolina United States

State-Wide

National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities (CDC-RFA-OT21-2103)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 05/31/23 to 05/31/26.