As part of an effort to prioritize health equity in Los
Angeles County, the Department of Public Health
Institutional Review Board (IRB) is undertaking a
Health
Equity Initiative (HEI). Through this initiative,
the IRB is working to ensure that
principles of health equity such as community engagement
and cultural and linguistic inclusion are incorporated
into the research, evaluation, and other data-gathering
activities that are conducted by the Department and
our community partners. The HEI is described in more
detail below.
Visit the Center for Health Equity
website for more information about the Los Angeles
County Dept. of Public Health's ongoing efforts to
address health equity.
RECENT UPDATES: Our efforts to develop and
implement a Health Equity policy will be recognized at
the 2024 Association for the Accreditation of Human
Research Protection Programs, Inc. (AAHRPP) Annual
Conference! IRB staff will present a poster which
describes the development of the Health Equity policy.
Click on the image below to view the poster:
Health Equity Initiative (HEI)
HEI Phase 1
In Phase 1 of the
HEI,
IRB staff completed interviews with a group of key informants
comprised of researchers from governmental, academic,
and community-based entities located in and serving Los
Angeles County.
Click on the photo below to view the full report that
describes Phase 1 of the HEI.
Our HEI Phase 1
efforts were recognized at the 2023 Public
Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)
Annual Conference! Please click on the image below to
view the poster that was presented at the conference.
Key Takeaways from the Interviews:
- The research field must do a better
job of engaging underserved communities
throughout all aspects of the health
research process, from the conception
and design of a study to the analysis
and dissemination of results after
collection is complete.
- Taking a community-based approach to
health research can improve the
engagement and investment of the
community leading to a more equitable
research process and the collection of
data that is more representative of and
relevant to the target communities.
- Organizations that engage in health
research should provide resources such
as operational support (i.e., use of
facilities or other infrastructure,
personnel, etc.), adequate training, and
funding to integrate a more equitable
and community-based approach to their
research activities.
- Organizations that fund health
research should incorporate health
equity standards in their grant awards
so that grantees can be held accountable
for addressing issues of health equity
in their research. Funders should also
reassess the size of their awards to
ensure that grantees have sufficient
funding for activities such as
evaluation, translation of study
documents, implementing more equitable
recruitment campaigns, providing more
equitable study incentives, etc.
HEI Phase 2
In Phase 2 of the HEI, IRB staff administered a survey
to
assess general attitudes, beliefs, and practices
regarding health equity in research and related
activities.
A summary report describing Phase 2 of the HEI is in
development. Please check back soon for updates.
HEI Phase 3 (Current)
Informed by data from Phases 1 and 2, IRB staff
developed a
Health Equity Standard of Practice (SOP) that will 1)
serve as a roadmap for DPH researchers to integrate
principles of health equity in their research and
related activities; and 2) ensure accountability in the
ongoing process of addressing health equity in research
by integrating the collection of health equity measures
into the DPH IRB review process. A Pre/Post evaluation
questionnaire will be administered to assess the
policy's impact before and after implementation.
To view a copy of the policy, please click here:
Health Equity Policy
