The Durham County Department of Public Health is proud to announce it has received a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health for a partnership to improve health literacy and equity among communities of color in Durham. The grant totals $2 million to be administered over the next two years for the project titled “Bull City Strong: Improving Health Literacy in Durham to Further an Equitable Community Response to COVID-19.” 

DCoDPH will lead this collaborative project in partnership with North Carolina Central University; LATIN-19, a community coalition established to address health disparities within the Latinx community as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; Project ACCESS of Durham County, a community-based organization that seeks to improve the health of uninsured and underserved Durham County residents; media partners; and other community partners who employ and support community health workers to provide services related to COVID-19. This Durham County partnership was awarded this grant in recognition of its work to address health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic and its comprehensive plan to continue reducing health disparities. The project will utilize strategies and lessons learned during the pandemic to respond to COVID-19 outcomes and more broadly address equity moving forward. 

“This grant provides a wonderful opportunity for the Durham County Department of Public Health to collaborate with great partners at North Carolina Central University, LATIN-19 and Project ACCESS.  Together, we will apply proven health literacy interventions to address disparities in health outcomes related to COVID-19.” said Lindsey Bickers Bock, Principal Investigator and Director of Health Education & Community Transformation.  “As we work to identify next steps in our response to COVID-19, this community-based partnership will help increase access to comprehensive healthcare, help people get recommended preventive care, and promote community health by working directly with historically marginalized populations.”

The proposed project has three goals: (1) Develop and disseminate health information that is accurate, accessible, and actionable, with a focus on improving access for individuals with limited digital access; (2) Promote behavior change for Durham community members to increase their access to medically accurate health information, informed decision making and timely utilization of high quality health services; and (3) Expand local efforts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate health information services. These aims align with the HHS Healthy People 2030 goals to improve health communication, increase access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services, help people get recommended preventive health care services, and promote health and safety in community settings.

Strategies to achieve this project’s goals include expanding peer advocacy programs; coaching and education to Durham community members from historically marginalized populations to improve their access to and utilization of high-quality health care; a digital learning community to advance organizational health literacy; mini-grants for native content development with accurate health messages; and more.

“We are extremely proud to have been recognized for Durham’s collaborative work serving historically marginalized populations, and we are excited to receive this grant in order to do more,” said DCoDPH health Director Rod Jenkins. “Nearly half of Durham’s residents identify as people of color, and all people deserve the health information and resources they need to stay safe. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as yet another reminder of the critical need to target health equity efforts to historically marginalized communities, so we look forward to using the lessons and strategies learned during this pandemic to continue to better serve all Durham residents.”