Developing Infectious Disease Outbreak Emergency Communications for Populations With Limited English Proficiency: Insights to Sustain Collaborations Between Local Health Departments and Community-Based Organizations.

COVID-19 pandemic; HEALTH boards; COMMUNITY organization; DISEASE outbreaks; LANGUAGE ability

Purpose: State and local public health departments (LHDs) are encouraged to collaborate with community-based organizations (CBOs) to enhance communication and promote protective practices with communities made vulnerable during emergencies, but there is little evidence-based understanding of practical approaches to fostering collaboration in this context. This research focuses on how collaboration enhances LHD capacity for effective communication for people with limited English proficiency (LEP) during infectious disease outbreaks specifically and strategies to facilitate productive LHD-CBO collaboration. Design: Qualitative, telephone interviews, conducted March-October 2021. Setting: Rural and urban jurisdictions with Chinese-speaking or Spanish-speaking populations across the United States. Participants: 36 LHD and 31 CBO staff working on outreach to Chinese and Spanish speakers during COVID-19. Method: Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a team-based, codebook approach to thematic analysis. Results: During COVID-19, CBOs extended LHD capacity to develop and disseminate effective communication, meaning communication that is rapidly in-language, culturally resonant, locally relevant, and trusted. Practical strategies to enable and sustain effective collaboration were needed to address operational dimensions (eg, material and administrative) and relational dimensions (eg, promoting trust and respect). Conclusion: Policies and financing to support LHD-CBO collaborations are critical to improving communication with people with LEP and addressing long-standing inequities in outcomes during outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of American Journal of Health Promotion is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)