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3. Are there examples of evidence-based public health decision making failing to adequately address health equity?

Keeping the health equity lens while making evidence based public health decisions is critical to ensuring that all populations, including those impacted by the decisions, are considered.  While the message and intention of public health is to improve health for entire communities, there are instances when even well-intended interventions (policies, projects, or programs) may exclude specific populations, or may even impact them negatively.

2. How can you use a health equity approach when conducting community engagement or involving partnerships/coalitions?

Community engagement and partnerships use and build skills and talents of community members and partners to make real changes in community health and well-being. Community engagement and partnerships offer opportunities to hear the voices of people most directly affected by health inequities.  With community and partnerships, you can work to achieve equitable outcomes by combining resources and skills.

 

When working with communities, you (the agency, team, organization or partnerships) must go in with an open mindset. This means being empathetic to community voices, building authentic and lasting relationships, and being okay with the time that it takes to engage populations who are under-represented.


Listening to the voices of community members is the best way to build a strong partnership to address health inequities, enhance trust, and improve the capacity (resources and skills) of involved community members. (Citation: Community Partnerships, #2)  

 

You may also wish to consider the following ideas as you design and implement assessment and engagement strategies:

  • Understand the historical context before developing an engagement strategy

  • Build community relationships early on

  • Assess and address organizational and community barriers to community engagement

  • Select engagement techniques appropriate for your community

  • Involve partners from multiple fields and sectors that are advancing health equity and work with population groups experiencing health inequities

  • Establish mechanisms to value community and partner input and technical expertise

  • Develop a common language among diverse partners and members

  • Support and build upon the community’s capacity to act

(Citation: Community Partnerships, #1)

We must listen more to the people we serve, have uncomfortable conversations, and increase our push for social justice.

– Georges Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, APHA

​(Citation: Community Partnerships, #2)

“Community engagement can harness the skills and talents of a community’s most important resource: it’s people. Involving community members in a health initiative can foster connectedness and trust, improve assessment efforts, and built the capacity of individuals to positively affect their community.”

—CDC, Practitioners Guide to Advancing Health Equity

(Citation: Community Partnerships, #1)

1. What is evidence-based decision making in a community?

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Note: Community is often defined as a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings. While community is usually determined by geographic location such as a county or city, your community may be a group of individuals that make up a team or partnership that represents the community and provides guidance or funding or individuals that are joined by culture or shared experiences within county and city boundaries.

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” Involving the community into the decision-making process is critical for ensuring that decisions concerning community health are just and right for all, not only those in charge. People in communities know what their problems are and research can learn from the experiences of community members by talking with them rather than talking about them.”

--Yvonne Lewis, Faith Access to Community Economic Development

(Citation: Community Partnerships, #2) 

Evidence based decision making in communities includes multiple steps and should build upon on the current strengths and capacities of communities. The process most often begins with a true community assessment that takes into account multiple data sets that describe the community from many angles. This assessment is the first “evidence” in evidence based decision making.

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Learn More about

 Community Engagement for Health Equity

Go back to Community Engagement for Health Equity Core Questions

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