Imagine that your state’s Secretary of Health has asked you to research and identify best practices on how to effectively and appropriately engage “the community” during a public health emergency like a pandemic. Specifically, they want to know:
What are some successful models/ways to formally engage the voices and lived experiences of communities and groups disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 within an Incident Command Structure (ICS)? [Disproportionately impacted communities and groups can include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency, the LGBTQ+ community, agricultural and other workers in high-risk settings, unhoused people, refugee and immigrant communities, etc.]
How would you define community from a state health departments perspective and what stakeholders/sectors would you include in that definition? Share your rationale for why you chose to include (or not include) certain stakeholders/sectors.