Connecticut Health Foundation Pandemic Report Points to Lessons State Should Learn, Noteworthy Promising Practices
/The COVID-19 pandemic magnified existing health and economic inequities in Connecticut – and provided important lessons and promising practices that Connecticut leaders and others can draw from in working to create a more equitable state, according to a new report by the Connecticut Health Foundation.
While the pandemic affected everyone in Connecticut, it took an especially devastating toll on people of color, who faced higher case and death rates, as well as higher rates of economic challenges, according to the report. These inequities were the result of both the novel coronavirus and disparities that predated the pandemic, leaving people of color far more vulnerable to the health threat and economic disruption.
The report notes that the state’s initial responses often focused on “reaching as many people as possible” without addressing the “additional challenges facing many of those who were hardest hit.” Targeted interventions typically came later. As a result, those who were already disadvantaged were left even further behind, the report pointed out.
State officials should “Expect that one-size-fits-all approaches won’t effectively reach those who most need services and plan for multiple strategies from the beginning.” And it calls on state and local officials to “anticipate varying needs within each community by regularly identifying barriers and resources, including transportation challenges, languages spoken, and trusted information sources.”
There were also hopeful signs that suggest improvements can be made to respond to the disparities which were never more evident than during the pandemic’s first years.
The report identifies examples of promising practices, including a vaccine clinic in Hartford designed to be as accessible as possible, efforts in New Haven to use federal funding to address longstanding racial wealth gaps, and the work of trusted messengers including the Ministerial Health Fellowship, a group of Black pastors who shared information about COVID-19 in their communities and host a weekly vaccination clinic at a Middletown church that has now vaccinated more than 15,000 people.
“Two years after Connecticut’s first COVID case, it is critical to take stock of the lessons and consider how to address the inequities that made this crisis particularly painful and deadly for communities of color,” Connecticut Health Foundation President and CEO Tiffany Donelson said. “We have the opportunity to work to become a stronger, healthier state, but that requires honest reflection and an intentional focus on policies that will address the underlying conditions that made the pandemic so devastating.”
The “lessons” identified in the report include:
People of color were more at-risk in the pandemic because of existing inequities. Making Connecticut more resilient will require addressing these inequities, not just restoring what existed before.
Making something “accessible” requires addressing barriers people face, not simply making something available. A broader definition of access should include considering and accommodating varying needs.
Trusted messengers are critical in a crisis – and are necessary partners in advancing health and well-being in regular times.
The report also pointed out that Connecticut must invest in public health, social services, and regional coordination, and data on race, ethnicity, and language preference are critical tools in tracking equity. State officials were also urged to take sufficient time to get community feedback, described as critical to making responses more effective.
The Foundation’s report also stressed that to be most effective, these changes need to be adopted in broad and sustained ways, embedded into policies and practices, rather than as individual or temporary programs.
“Our goal is to encourage everyone to reflect on the lessons of the past two years and find ways to change how we operate to address inequities that existed before and during the pandemic. At the Connecticut Health Foundation, we are examining changes we can make, and hope others will join us in sharing what they learned and hope to improve and build on,” Donelson said.
The Connecticut Health Foundation is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving health outcomes for people of color. Since its creation in 1999, the foundation has awarded more than $72 million to nonprofit organizations and public entities to expand health equity, reduce health disparities, expand health coverage, and improve the health of all Connecticut residents.
