Addressing Health Equity Goals for COVID-19 Vaccination Using Integrated Data and Mapping Tools: A Collaboration Between Academia, Public Health, and Health Care Systems in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio

Abstract

Context: Data sharing between local health departments and health care systems is challenging during public health crises. In early 2021, the supply of COVID-19 vaccine was limited, vaccine appointments were difficult to schedule, and state health departments were using a phased approach to determine who was eligible to get the vaccine. Program: Multiple local health departments and health care systems with the capacity for mobile and pop-up vaccine clinics came together in Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio, with a common objective to coordinate where, when, and how to set up mobile/pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics. To support this objective, the Equity Mapping Tool, which is a set of integrated tools, workflows, and processes, was developed, implemented, and deployed in partnership with an academic institution. Implementation: The Equity Mapping Tool was designed after a rapid community engagement phase. Our analytical approaches were informed by community engagement activities, and we translated the Equity Mapping Tool for stakeholders, who typically do not share timely and granular data, to build capacity for data-enabled decision making. Discussion: We discuss our observations related to the sustainability of the Equity Mapping Tool, lessons learned for public health scientists/practitioners, and future directions for extending the Equity Mapping Tool to other jurisdictions and public health crises.

Real-time Monitoring and Evaluation of the Vax Cash Program: A Case Study from Columbus, Ohio

“…Data on vaccine uptake stratified by race at the census-tract level were provided to Columbus Public Health by the Ohio Department of Health as part of a larger project called the Equity Mapping Tool project. 10 Columbus Public Health reported the data from each clinic to the Ohio Department of Health via the Ohio Impact Statewide Immunization Information System (ImpactSIIS) web application. An exponential smoothing time-series model based on simple exponential smoothing 11 was used to create short-term forecasts for COVID-19 vaccine uptake for neighborhoods in and around the 10 clinics in the Vax Cash program.…”