Thread by @ShreyaKangovi

Every state/local #Covid_19 initiative I’ve read about is making one of the following mistakes.

Thread.

1. Ignoring community altogether and just doing apps.

Case example: Utah.

$2.75 million to purchase an app PLUS a *monthly* maintenance fee of $300,000.

(Could’ve employed 100 FTE #CHWs with this $ but who’s counting)

And the app isn’t working.

tiny.cc/bvrfpz

2. Vaguely referencing “shoe leather” and community engagement but no mention of the #CHW workforce who already does that.

Case example: almost everyone.

“Cultural literacy is key to developing trust.”

(Really? Then hire someone of the same CULTURE!)

tiny.cc/80rfpz

3. Hiring #CHWs but missing the infrastructure.

Case examples: a couple of states are hiring contact tracers from local #CHW associations which is great!

But there’s a science behind how to hire, train, supervise and deploy #CHWs - let’s do it right!

tiny.cc/cmsfpz

4/In IMPaCT programs across the country, we have:

1. Hired empathic people who share a background with patients
2. Trained #CHWs on providing holistic, tailored support, inc contact tracing.
3. Built enabling infrastructure: supervision, caseloads, metrics, safety protocols

5/It wasn’t easy to build all of this and test it in 3 #RCTs.

It took 60 of us a —including #CHWs, #scientists, #publichealth experts, #socialworkers— a decade.

But now we have it.

Would love to see more states using it. It’s a hard wheel to reinvent.