Publication Date: Friday, August 18, 2023
Publication Authors: Bryna Koch, Michelle Moore, Brianna Rooney, Mona Arora, Jennifer Peters, Daniel Derksen
The public health system addresses acute diseases such as COVID-19, responds to natural disasters, identifies unmet health needs, makes recommendations and implements interventions to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. The public health community can better understand and address challenges like COVID-19 by developing solutions, using innovative approaches, and creating partnerships. This report provides information to better understand Arizona’s public health system capacity and incorporates what the COVID-19 pandemic taught us to address public health system needs going forward. The aim is to inform decisions to build and sustain the capacity of the public health system and support community health.
The Advancing Health Equity, Addressing Disparities (AHEAD AZ) project is housed in the Arizona Center for Rural Health (AzCRH) at the University of Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) funded this report via an interagency services agreement with AzCRH as part of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national initiative to address COVID-19 health disparities among populations at high risk for morbidity and mortality.