There are two realities that are recognized in the current landscape of the COVID-19 response:
- Local communities are preparing for potential second wave of COVID-19 cases, which means escalating contact tracing activities, and
- COVID-19 is revealing disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations and how structural racism builds and reinforces a landscape that promotes those effects.
As an organization focused on strengthening clinical-community partnerships to implement upstream work that address health equity, HealthBegins developed “A Guide to Community Based Workforce Principles for Contact Tracing” to serve as a resource to local health departments navigating these realities.
As local health departments are considering how to scale up their contact tracing activities, this guide can help apply a health equity lens to their approach by adopting “community-based workforce principles.” The principles look at racial equity in recruitment, community trust, the role of psychosocial services, and the importance of implementing economic and workforce development practices that strengthen the community infrastructure. The guide describes six principles and includes resources and strategies to assist with implementation. In addition, tools are provided that can assist health department estimate and plan for an increase in contact tracers and provides a roadmap for developing an implementation strategy.
View the guide and learn more HealthBegins.
