Engaging and planning for racially and ethnically diverse communities in a pandemic: Recommendations of the National Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity

The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic reaffirmed the disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality faced by racially and ethnically diverse populations in emergency events. The rate of H1N1 related deaths was four times higher among American Indians/Alaska Natives than all other groups. African Americans and Latinos were also more likely to die or be hospitalized as compared to whites. While this unequal impact is linked to poverty, recent evidence suggests that race, culture and language also have a profound influence. The National Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity, a broadly representative expert panel supported by the HHS Office of Minority Health, has served since its inception in 2006 as a leading national voice on engaging and integrating diverse communities in emergency preparedness. Through its national consensus statement, eight guiding principles and an all-hazards toolkit, the Panel has issued a comprehensive set of recommendations on integrating diversity into key preparedness functions, including: collaboration; risk assessment; risk communication; drills and exercises; and evaluation. In its October 2010 convening, the Panel, including its community-based representatives, discussed the application of the toolkit to pandemic influenza preparedness, particularly around engaging diverse communities to improve understanding and adherence to recommended actions. In addition, opportunities to advance this objective through the Affordable Care Act of 2010 were explored. Developed for use by responders, advocates and local, state and national policymakers, this presentation will offer consensus-based recommendations, supplemented by leading research and practices in the field, on engaging, planning for and responding to diverse communities in a pandemic.