Building Capacity for Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Preparedness Planning and Response
In 2020, CDC funded the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) through a project titled Addressing Needs of People with Disabilities in COVID-19 Preparedness Planning, Mitigation, and Recovery Efforts in U.S. State, Territorial, City, and County Health Jurisdictions.
The purpose of this project is to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities in state, territorial, and local health department preparedness and response efforts by embedding disability specialists, who serve as subject matter experts, in public health emergency preparedness planning and response programs. Disability specialists are embedded in 28 state, territorial, and local health departments across the United States and are working to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate disability inclusion efforts within these agencies.
Assess
Disability specialists conducted baseline needs assessments to understand how state, territorial, and local health departments are addressing the needs of people with disabilities in their preparedness planning, mitigation, and recovery efforts. The assessment included a gap analysis to identify areas of improvement in COVID-19 response activities and partnerships with state and local organizations that serve people with disabilities.
Plan
Using information collected from the baseline needs assessments, disability specialists developed individualized program implementation, evaluation, and sustainability plans to meet the needs of the health departments. Additionally, they identified promising practices from COVID-19 response efforts and other past emergency responses to develop recommendations for quality improvement in preparedness planning
Implement
Disability specialists are working to update local emergency response plans to better serve the needs of people with disabilities during emergencies. They are also working to better engage with people with disabilities in their jurisdiction and to develop partnerships with local disability organizations. Disability specialists participate in monthly learning community calls, which provide an opportunity to engage with other specialists as peers and share best practices and lessons learned throughout the project period.
Additional activities disability specialists are engaged in include holding listening sessions with disability organizations and making recommendations to solve issues within the context of the local response; engaging and coordinating with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regional disability integration specialists and other FEMA staff for disability service organizations to determine local needs; and collaborating with federal partners, community-based organizations, disability advocates, community members, local government, nonprofit agencies, and other relevant entities to coordinate efforts at the local level.
Evaluate
ASTHO and NACCHO, in collaboration with CDC, developed an evaluation framework for the project. The framework includes process and outcome measures and a mixed-methods approach for data collection from health departments and disability specialists. Disability specialists are working with ASTHO and NACCHO to develop and implement individualized (at the health department level) evaluation plans in line with the overall evaluation framework.
State | Participation Status | Local Agency Participating |
---|---|---|
Alabama | Participating | |
Alaska | Previously participated* | |
American Samoa | Not participating | |
Arizona | Participating | Pima County |
Arkansas | Not participating | |
California | Not participating | |
Colorado | Not participating | |
Connecticut | Not participating | |
Delaware | Not participating | |
District Of Columbia | Participating | |
Florida | Not participating | |
Georgia | Participating | |
Guam | Participating | |
Hawaii | Not participating | |
Idaho | Not participating | |
Illinois | Not participating | |
Indiana | Not participating | |
Iowa | Participating | |
Kansas | Not participating | |
Kentucky | Not participating | |
Louisiana | Participating | New Orleans |
Maine | Not participating | |
Marshall Islands | Not participating | |
Maryland | Not participating | |
Massachusetts | Not participating | |
Michigan | Participating | Kent County |
Micronesia | Not participating | |
Minnesota | Not participating | |
Mississippi | Participating | |
Missouri | Participating | |
Montana | Not participating | |
Nebraska | Not participating | |
Nevada | Not participating | |
New Hampshire | Not participating | |
New Jersey | Not participating | |
New Mexico | Participating | |
New York | Not participating | |
North Carolina | Not participating | |
North Dakota | Not participating | |
Northern Marianas | Not participating | |
Ohio | Participating | |
Oklahoma | Not participating | |
Oregon | Local agency participating | Marion County |
Palau | Not participating | |
Pennsylvania | Local agency participating | Philadelphia |
Puerto Rico | Participating | |
Rhode Island | Participating | |
South Carolina | Participating | |
South Dakota | Previously participated* | |
Tennessee | Participating | |
Texas | Local agency participating | Williamson County |
Utah | Local agency participating | Utah County |
Vermont | Not participating | |
Virgin Islands | Not participating | |
Virginia | Local agency participating | Three Rivers Health District |
Washington | Local agency participating | Seattle & King County; Kittitas County |
West Virginia | Not participating | |
Wisconsin | Not participating | |
Wyoming | Participating |
*Previously participated but do not currently have disability specialists embedded.
Project Resources
- ASTHO Experts Podcast: Disability and Crisis Standards of Care in the Age of COVID-19
- ASTHO Vaccine Expertise Video Series
- Video 1: Accessibility and COVID-19
- Video 2: Accessible Testing and Vaccination Sites
- Video 3: Vaccines for People who are Homebased
- Video 4: Website Accessibility
- Video 5: Partnerships with Disability Organizations
- Video 6: Partnerships and Vaccine Confidence
- ASTHO Expert Video Series : Why I Got the Vaccine: A PSA Series on Vaccination for People Living with Disabilities and Their Caregivers
- ASTHO Blog: Embedded: One Year Review of Disability and Preparedness Project
- ASTHO Blog: Embedded: When Disaster Strikes for People Living with Disabilities
- ASTHO Blog: Embedded: Reflections from Disability and Preparedness Specialists
- ASTHO Brief: Vaccine Hesitancy in People Living with Disabilities
- Press Release: NACCHO Awards Funding to Address the Needs of People with Disabilities in COVID-19 Local Preparedness Planning, Mitigation and Recovery Efforts