Quick Guide
Definition: Integrate equity principles throughout the organization's programmatic and operational plans, policies, and procedures; including budget, human resources, procurement, data, and decision-making.
Why It Matters: Internal policies and procedures are often outdated and do not address equity in their Human Resources (HR) practices, strategic and operational plans, resource allocation, and funding, so emphasizing equity throughout the organization sets the tone for how equity is prioritized internally and therefore, externally. Embedding equity principles within your own organization serves as a model for external partners building their own equity capacity and infrastructure.
| Type | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Change Internal Practices & Processes | As part of Human Impact Partners' Health Equity Guide, the Change Internal Practices and Processes strategy addresses how to change internal practices and align internal processes to advance equity. Difficult work must be done to reveal how current policies and practices support or impede equity, and barriers must be removed to advance equity work. |
| Examples | Health Equity Guide - Additional Resources | This is a suite of resources intended to help health departments change internal practices and processes. Resources include Contracting for Equity, Developing an Equity Impact Statement, Equitable Hiring Handbook, and more. |
| Examples | Rural Policymaking in Action Highlighting State Actions to Advance Rural Prosperity & Equity | Part of ChangeLab Solutions’ "Toward Better Rural Futures" project, this resource has identified key policy efforts in several states that can serve as guides for strategic action at the state level. Examples include Kansas' Office of Rural Prosperity and Wisconsin's Community Development Investment Grant Program. Toward Better Rural Futures aims to foster greater collaboration and alignment across local, regional, and state levels of government. |
| Trainings | Promoting Equity in Public Health and the Role of Change Management | This training is the fourth module in the Strategic Skills Training Series focused on Change Management for Public Health Professionals developed by Region 2 Public Health Training Center. This learning module will look at health equity from a “change management” perspective. |
| Webinars | Health Equity Policies and Practices | From the Pennsylvania Public Health Association, this webinar helps participants gain a deeper understanding of the core concepts of health equity, how to incorporate equity into everyday practices, and approaches to facilitating meaningful change in communities.and within the public health workforce. It also presents frameworks for using a culturally responsive and racial equity lens in public health practice. |
| Guides | Equity Impact Review Process Overview | The Equity Impact Review (EIR) process merges empirical (quantitative) data and community engagement findings (qualitative) to inform planning, decision-making and implementation of actions which affect equity in King County, Washington. This ensures that equity impacts are rigorously and holistically considered and advanced in the design and implementation of the proposed action (plan/policy/program development, operations modification, capital programs/projects, etc.) |
| Guides | Health Equity Performance Measures Toolkit: A Guide for Local Health Departments | The Center for Public Health Systems (CPHS) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) developed this toolkit for all Local Health Departments (LHDs) who are interested in learning more about performance measures and how they can support LHD health equity initiatives. This toolkit is especially appropriate for public health professionals at LHDs who are curious about health equity performance measures (HEPM) but have not yet taken steps to design HEPM, or who are in the beginning steps of designing performance measures to assess progress and support improvement in health equity programs and initiatives at their LHD. |
| Type | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Case Study: Harris County Institutionalizes Health Equity through Organizational Transformation | This case study outlines how the Harris County Public Health Department (HCPH), Texas, developed and championed health equity-focused policies, structures, staffing positions, and trainings. |
| Templates | State Health & Value Strategies: Health Equity Policy Tool | The Health Equity Policy Tool is a framework for reviewing and assessing the impact on equity of current and/or proposed policies. The questions guide the user to research and consider the potential for the policy to impact equity (positively or negatively), with the final section guiding the user to integrate the information gathered in early sections into a set of decisions or recommendations. |
| Trainings | Plan to Plan Community Health Improvement Plan Series | This free and self-paced training from the Michigan Public Health Training Center in Region V is a three-part series that will introduce the community health improvement plan (CHIP), address how to identify community health priorities, and guide you through writing your CHIP. |
| Trainings | Changing Internal Practices to Advance Health Equity | Human Impact Partners (HIP) presents a training for organizations interested in addressing barriers to integrating health equity into their department. The program confirms the role of local health departments in addressing the roots of health inequity, addresses change management and different levels of influence in staff around equity initiatives, and gives examples of how to use internal actions to advance health equity. The reframing tools in this training are also very useful to all organizations in their equity discussions. |
| Trainings | Serving Diverse Communities: Building Cultural Competence and Humility into the Workplace | This training discusses culture, cultural competence, cultural humility, and the differences between them. Three online resources are included in this training to promote cultural competency and humility. |
| Webinars | Advancing Health Equity in Local Health Departments: 4- Part Webinar Series | Organized by Human Impact Partners, these webinars were co-sponsored with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, the National Collaborative for Health Equity, and NACCHO’s Health Equity and Social Justice Committee. Each webinar focuses on a set of strategic practices to help health departments build internal infrastructure, work across government agencies, foster community partnerships, and champion transformative change to advance health equity. |
| Webinars | Embed Equity, Belonging and Lean Principles into Your Strategic Planning Process | This webinar from Washington State's Office of Financial Management discusses how to integrate equity, belonging and lean principles into the strategic planning process to ensure everyone can fully participate in a hybrid environment, all voices are heard, and the final product is co-created and doesn’t end up sitting on a shelf. |
| Guides | Building Health Equity Policy Agendas: A Guide for Wisconsin | This guide, developed through the Wisconsin Healthiest State Initiative, may help public health practitioners, coalitions, and stakeholders to: better understand what is meant by health equity and Health in All Policies, inform policy making for healthy and equitable outcomes, identify possible entry points for equity policy development, and inform a specific equity policy effort. |
| Guides | Foundational Public Health Services Planning Guide | The purpose of this guide is to provide interested health departments with the key components to consider before planning the FPHS implementation process. I |
| Articles | Advancing Equity in Local Health Departments: An Inside-Out Approach | The North Carolina Division of Public Health, Chronic Disease and Injury Section recommends local health departments (LHDs) adopt an “inside-out” approach to advance health and racial equity. Internally, LHDs must increase their capacity to address equity by establishing LHD policies and practices that prioritize equity and nurture a culture of trust. Externally, LHDs must seek guidance from historically marginalized populations to inform LHD policy changes and community-based public health approaches affecting these populations for greater engagement in LHD programs. |
| Articles | State Reported Efforts to Address Health Disparities: A 50 State Review | This analysis focuses on current state efforts, many of which were implemented during or after 2020, to address health disparities and advance health equity based on a review of publicly available materials from all 50 states and DC. In addition, case study interviews were conducted with 14 stakeholders in three states (California, North Dakota, and Michigan) to increase understanding of the factors contributing to success of these state initiatives, lessons learned, and potential implications for other states. The case study initiatives reflect some of the broad themes of state-level activities identified through the analysis of publicly available materials and include states with varied geography, racial and ethnic demographics, and political leadership (See Methods for more details.) |
| Articles | Equity & Inclusion: The Roots of Organizational Well-Being | This article discusses the need to go beyond simply adopting standard diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in order to build healthy and resilient organizations. Strategies include building capacity to develop new skills, creating an environment where DEI can grow, and implementing equitable systems internally and externally. |
| 2023 CA LHJ Examples | Butte County Resources to Embed Equity Principles | Butte County Public Health prioritizes equity in its Strategic Plan and lists “advancing equity” as a strategic priority. In 2022, the department revised its Health Promotion and Health Education Program Development Guide, highlighting addressing at-risk populations, health equity, and social determinants of health. The Health Equity Team creates various tools to help staff incorporate equity into their work, such as a Health Equity Flyer Checklist, an Equity Site Assessment Checklist, and hosts monthly internal meetings. They also invite guest speakers from the community representing diverse populations to enhance staff's cultural competency. Moreover, the department completed a DEI Guidance document, urging staff to integrate health equity principles into both internal and external activities. |
| 2023 CA LHJ Examples | Humboldt County Public Health: Health Equity Checklist | Humboldt County Public Health developed the Health Equity Checklist to integrate programmatic, policy, and operational strategies focused on advancing equity into the county's programs and initiatives. The Health Equity Checklist was piloted with programs in the Healthy Communities Division to practice with implementation and collect feedback on the tool. After piloting the checklist, Public Health developed the corresponding policy and procedure document on how to facilitate onboarding to programs. Equity staff have supported additional programs in different Public Health Divisions with implementation of the health equity checklist with the goal of expanding to branch-wide implementation. |
| Type | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Santa Clara Develops Infrastructure to Address Racial & Health Equity Example | A case study examining how Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California is developing internal infrastructure to advance racial and health equity. Strategies include developing racial and health equity committees and workgroups, developing equity trainings for staff, and engaging community partners wherever possible. The outcomes and impacts of their work are also discussed. |
| Examples | Case Study: King County Transforms County Practice to Advance Equity | The case study outlines how the city of King County created an interbranch team to focus on developing tools and policies to advance equity across all government departments. |
| Examples | Case Study: Cuyahoga County Uses Health Improvement Process to Lift Up Equity and Racial Inclusion | https://healthequityguide.org/case-studies/cuyahoga-county-uses-health-improvement-process-to-lift-up-equity-and-racial-inclusion/ |
| Frameworks | Operationalizing Equity | Operationalizing Equity looks at how the Annie E. Casey Foundation is embedding equity principles in its grantmaking and administrative operations. The report includes tools for operationalizing equity work and examines how tying race equity to an organization's mission can help staff shift their priorities over time. |