Public Health Emergency Planning for Hard to Reach Populations Through Partnerships and Collaboration

Following the 2009 H1N1 response, Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) recognized a planning challenge related to providing information and resources to hard to reach populations such as community members with developmental disabilities, the homeless population, the elderly, and community members who are homebound. In addition, it was noted that response among these groups appeared to be affected by the relationship the recipient had with the agency providing the resources.

The methods developed by JCPH to increase access to information and resources for hard to reach community members involved collaborating with agencies already serving these populations and developing plans to provide information, as well as emergency medication if appropriate, during public health emergencies. The plan involved identifying community members that may be more difficult to reach, and contacting agencies already working with these groups, to develop agreements for collaboration.

The result has been the drafting of a formal agreement with the primary agency in Jefferson County serving adults with developmental disabilities to provide information and medication in the event of a public health emergency. In addition, informational meetings have been conducted with agencies serving the homeless, the undocumented, the elderly, and homebound populations.

The work on this planning challenge will continue as JCPH develops agreements with additional agencies serving hard to reach populations. The goal is to draw upon the relationships of trust these agencies have with the clients they are already serving, in order to increase public health emergency planning and response success with these community members.