How can you promote health equity in underserved communities through cross-functional coordination?

1 Identify the needs and assets of the community

Before you can design and implement effective interventions, you need to understand the specific needs and assets of the community you are serving. This means engaging with community members, leaders, and organizations to learn about their health priorities, challenges, and strengths. You can use various methods to collect and analyze data, such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, or community mapping. By doing so, you can identify the gaps and opportunities for improving health equity and tailor your strategies accordingly.

3 Advocate for policy and system changes

One of the most powerful ways to promote health equity in underserved communities is to advocate for policy and system changes that address the social determinants of health. These are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, such as income, education, employment, environment, or discrimination. You can use your voice and influence as a patient advocate to raise awareness, mobilize support, and demand action from decision-makers at local, state, or national levels. You can also help your partners and community members to participate in the policy-making process and hold the authorities accountable.

4 Implement and evaluate interventions

Once you have established your partnerships and advocacy goals, you can implement and evaluate interventions that aim to improve health equity in underserved communities. These interventions can range from providing direct services, such as health education, screening, or referral, to creating enabling environments, such as safe spaces, community gardens, or bike lanes. You can use your skills and knowledge as a patient advocate to ensure that these interventions are culturally appropriate, evidence-based, and responsive to the community's needs and preferences. You can also monitor and measure their effectiveness and impact using relevant indicators and feedback.

5 Share and learn from best practices

Finally, you can promote health equity in underserved communities by sharing and learning from best practices across different settings and contexts. You can use various platforms and channels to disseminate your successes, challenges, and lessons learned, such as newsletters, blogs, podcasts, or webinars. You can also join networks and forums that connect you with other patient advocates and professionals who are working on similar issues and goals. By doing so, you can exchange ideas, insights, and innovations that can inspire and inform your future actions.