Guiding Principle 3

Align with Community Priorities

Aligning project activities with community needs, interests, and values facilitates community buy-in and participation.

Introduction

Focusing Resources to Better Understand and Meet Community Needs

Every community has a unique and diverse set of needs, interests, and values. Tailoring project events and activities to the communities you serve can help generate trust and ultimately increase buy-in and participation. This means connecting with the community in spaces where they feel comfortable and are already convening, and engaging in activities they are familiar with or are already participating in.

When possible, partner with colleagues focused on other program areas as well as external organizations or agencies to pair public health events with social services such as food distributions, health screenings, and legal clinics that may address priorities of the community. Offering these resources signifies to community members that you are invested in their long-term wellbeing and in cultivating a meaningful partnership.

Advancing health equity video series guiding principle 3: Aligning project activities with community needs, interests and values facilitates buy in and participation. Watch more community stories.

Discover Two Strategies Below

Dive into a slice of Guiding Principle 3 below from our Community Guide to Advance Health Equity. Explore across the 2 strategies of Guiding Principle 3 to discover how to facilitate community buy-in and participation by aligning project activities with community needs, interests, and values. Learn more and see additional stories and examples in the full Guiding Principle 3. To learn more about how to better align project activities with community needs, explore snapshots of the 2 strategies below.

Strategy: Meet communities where they are
Strategy: Co-locate events with other health and social services

Strategy 1:
Meet communities where they are

Meeting community members where they are requires careful consideration of where and when you host events and activities; whom you host them with; and what information, services, and resources you provide. Creating accessible and inclusive spaces is a critical strategy for reducing health inequities. Keep in mind that while the time and resources required for this work can often be substantial, providing support to overcome potential barriers builds trust with community members over time and increases the likelihood of future engagement.

Some people told us that this was the first accessible and easy way to receive a vaccine.
DHF

Implementation
ideas

Host events at popular and trusted community sites.

Selecting familiar, comfortable, and trusted locations (e.g., schools, places of worship, grocery stores, barber shops, senior centers, and public parks and pools) can help to alleviate community members’ anxieties about vaccination and other health services..

*PHS volunteers attending a community event.*

Address barriers to event attendance.

Community members face many competing demands on their time and resources. Whenever possible, make plans to address the most common barriers in the communities you serve, such as transportation, child care, and work or school schedules.

Nurse with baby from Public Health Solutions — *Community volunteer interacting with a child at a local event.*

Align events with community readiness for vaccination.

Depending on your community’s needs, you may choose to host listening sessions and informational events prior to opening vaccine clinics where you can answer questions, address concerns, and share information. Events that do offer vaccination should remain spaces in which community members can ask questions, express concerns, and receive accurate information without feeling pressure to get vaccinated.

Advocate for flexible funding

Funders often place limitations on the types of costs and activities permitted under their grants. This may include restrictions on food and entertainment costs as well as the types of activities deemed to fall within a project’s scope of work. When possible, communicate to funders the importance of flexible funds to best respond to community needs.

*Community members enjoying a Public Health Solutions family event*.

Create multiple opportunities for engagement:

High-traffic events are great to cast a wide net and catch passersby, however also consider who you may not be reaching at mainstream events. For instance, you may best reach unsheltered community members at sites where they convene for support, resources, or gatherings.

*Public Health Solutions volunteers tabling at a high-traffic community event.*

Accommodate cultural events and holidays when mapping events

Sometimes it may be possible to integrate your programming into cultural celebrations and holidays, while other times it may be more appropriate to schedule around them. When possible, share important dates and their potential impact on your project with funders, and encourage them to plan timing accordingly.

Host events during evenings and weekends.

If working outside of traditional business hours is not part of your staff members’ job descriptions, ensure you compensate them accordingly and be mindful of burnout and the need for self-care.

Keep in mind

*Dolores Huerta Foundation volunteers posing in front of the Healers of the Central Valley mural in Lamont, California.*

Project Partner Example

ITCM tribal project partners integrated programming into preplanned events such as health fairs, diabetes education programs, family cultural events, and cancer screenings and hosted vaccine clinics and educational events in popular locations like casinos, men’s group meetings, and community centers.

Reflection questions

Does your organization have existing linkages or partnerships with schools, faith communities, or other spaces that community members frequent? How might these partnerships be expanded to promote vaccine education, access, and uptake?

*Public Health Solution’s partner, La Jornada, disseminated the campaign toolkit and resources through outreach events such as vaccine drives and baby showers.*

Strategy 2:
Co-locate events with other health and social services

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated existing social, economic, and health inequities, amplifying racism, xenophobia, and other forms of discrimination. Vaccine Equity Project community partners stressed the need to address vaccine equity within this larger context. Partners found that by addressing community members’ acute needs first, they were able to create space to discuss preventive care like vaccination.

You have to start by honoring the patient’s decisions. Then we can bring more information and education to that community.
Project HEALINGS

Implementation ideas

*Project HEALINGS passing out red masks during the Lunar New Year Celebration events.*

Use focus groups, listening sessions, and community forums to learn about community priorities:

Vaccine Equity Project partners found it necessary to focus the initial stages of their relationship and partnership building on topics other than COVID-19 vaccination that communities identified as more pressing, including changes in employment and insurance coverage, housing and food instability, and legal status questions. Learning by listening with authenticity and an open mind can prevent your organization from expending resources on issues that people are not ready to engage with and can help identify a viable path forward for reaching your project’s goals.

*ITCM’s partner, Bay Mills Health Center, provided an accessible mobile clinic to reach surrounding rural communities.*

Co-locate vaccine clinics and education events with other essential services.

Vaccine Equity Project partners combined clinics and educational events with food distributions, baby supply giveaways, legal aid, back-to-school supplies, and more. Depending on your organizational capacity and funding sources, consider partnering with other organizations and agencies to provide essential services at your events.

*Idaho Immunization Coalition Dinner Poster.*

Beyond health and social service needs, host events that offer a reprieve from the stressors of daily life by providing entertainment and fun:

These events can provide opportunities to enjoy music, food, and games; connect with one another; and also learn more about vaccination in a low-pressure setting.

Consider referral systems and identify partners:

Addressing community-identified priorities that fall outside the scope and timeline of your project may be challenging. Consider what external resources and services might be available through partnerships or referrals, particularly for those with acute needs, and identify systems of hand-off or follow up to ensure people make the connection.

*Project HEALINGS volunteers doing outreach to the Hmong community*.

Avoid gatekeeping community resources:

Make sure that you and your partners are on the same page about welcoming all community members to events regardless of their intent to receive a vaccine. Vaccine distribution should not create a barrier to other essential services, such as food access.