Leveraging Clinical-Community Partnerships to Improve Health Literacy for Communities of Color

At the July HEZ Learning Community, Linda Cabral, MM, CTC-RI Senior Program Manager, Michelle Mooney, MPA, CTC-RI Program Coordinator II, and Allegra Scharff, MPH, RIDOH Chief of Healthcare Equity and Olmstead Coordinator, shared key recommendations for leveraging clinical-community partnerships to Improve health literacy for communities of color. These recommendations were the culmination of a year-long Community of Practice (CoP) that began in October 2023. Attendees were asked to provide their insight as to where they felt RI already excelled and in which areas RI needed to focus more. 

The CoP, which ran from October 2023 to June 2024, brought together nearly eighty partners, including healthcare organizations, industry leaders, community-based organizations, and community health workers. The CoP was established to build on the tools of the Rhode to Equity program, aiming to enhance collaboration between clinical and community sectors to support RI health equity. Through monthly sessions, participants explored strategies to bridge the gap between clinical and community sectors. After identifying multiple areas for potential collaboration, CoP members decided to develop recommendations on leveraging clinical-community partnerships to improve health literacy for communities of color. Read the full report here. This CoP was supported with RIDOH funding.