Building Rural and Frontier Local Health Department Capacity to Address Disparities and Advance Health Equity

Lluvia Botello
hesj@naccho.org

NACCHO will provide training and technical assistance for local health departments (LHDs) that serve rural and frontier jurisdictions to build their capacity to prevent and control infection and transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The target population is high-risk, underserved individuals in rural and frontier communities, including racial and ethnic minority groups.

Intended program outcomes include:

1. Support efforts to address rural health inequities and the social determinants of health related to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
2. Improve capacity and sustainability of rural and frontier LHDs serving populations to provide resources on COVID-19 and/or other infectious diseases
3. Improve coordination and collaboration among rural and/or frontier-serving LHDs
4. Improve health outcomes for rural and frontier populations at higher risk of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases

Applicants will plan and implement activities in the following priority areas:

• Expand existing and/or develop new mitigation and prevention resources and services to prepare for future public health emergencies and to reduce health disparities among underserved populations at higher risk as a result of COVID-19
• Improve data collection and reporting to guide public health response for rural and frontier populations disproportionately burdened by health inequities related to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases
• Build, leverage, and expand infrastructure support for COVID-19 and other communicable diseases to minimize impact among rural and frontier populations
• Mobilize partners and collaborators to develop relevant strategies that nurture health equity and address social determinants of health as they relate to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases among rural populations

Eligible applicants are governmental LHDs with at least 30% of their jurisdiction being designated as rural and/or frontier, as defined in the application instructions.

Applicant may not be a current recipient of one of the following grant opportunities:

• CDC-RFA-OT21-2103
• NACCHO COVID Workforce - Year 3

Award ceiling: $50,000
Project period: 3 years
Estimated number of awards: 15

A link to the application instructions is available on the program website.

Email completed applications and required attachments to hesj@naccho.org.