Navigators in the federal Insurance Navigator Program provide enrollment assistance, outreach, and education to individuals who are eligible for health insurance coverage. Their work is key to public health efforts to address inequities but continues to be poorly understood and undervalued. This article examines the navigator profession to better understand the equity work they do,…
Birth doulas, who support pregnant women during the perinatal period, have positive impacts on pregnancy and birth outcomes, particularly among underserved populations. However, health workforce-related barriers challenge the development of robust doula services in the United States. This article examines various approaches to train, recruit, and employ doulas, as well as what system-level changes are…
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Obama Administration created the federal Health Insurance Navigator Program, which seeks to reduce the rate of uninsured in the United States. Under this program, navigators help people procure insurance coverage through federally facilitated Marketplaces (or Exchanges). During COVID-19, financial insecurity and substantial budget cuts created increased shortages and…
Community-based doulas provide essential services and expertise which address inequities and systemic gaps in perinatal care. However, as they work to improve perinatal health, doulas themselves are providing equity work amidst an inequitable system and with insufficient political or financial support. Increased compensation and systemic support which acknowledges the breadth of services provided are needed…
It is well known that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as well as people with disabilities experience discrimination and bias in the health care services they receive. Few studies have examined such inequities in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, where pandemic-related restrictions and policies compounded existing inequitable care for these populations. This article…
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the US public health workforce. High turnover of local health department (LHD) personnel has created concerns about workforce needs and capacity. This strain has been particularly alarming among rural LHDs due to an historical lack of investment and limited workforce capacity compared to their urban counterparts. This article compares rural…
The use of telehealth skyrocketed during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to greatly limited in-person health care clinic visits, including those for primary care. Yet patients needed a way to access primary care services, whether to continue their ongoing care or address physical and behavioral health conditions that were caused or exacerbated…
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the US public health workforce. High turnover of local health department (LHD) personnel has created concerns about workforce needs and capacity. This strain has been particularly alarming among rural LHDs due to an historical lack of investment and limited workforce capacity compared to their urban counterparts. This article compares rural…
The use of telehealth skyrocketed during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to greatly limited in-person health care clinic visits, including those for primary care. Yet patients needed a way to access primary care services, whether to continue their ongoing care or address physical and behavioral health conditions that were caused or exacerbated…
It is well known that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as well as people with disabilities experience discrimination and bias in the health care services they receive. Few studies have examined such inequities in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, where pandemic-related restrictions and policies compounded existing inequitable care for these populations. This article…
