TABLE 3.

Recommendations for future policy and practice

Engage individuals and leaders from disproportionately affected populations as equal partners in all aspects of the public health agenda and establish liaisons to their communities. Example: Place community liaisons from vulnerable groups on decision-making committees so that their expertise can inform policy design to address the needs of vulnerable communities.

Explicitly recognize the impact of public health interventions on human rights and emphasize a human rights-focused approach to COVID-19 public health policymaking. Example: Acknowledge human rights restrictions as consequences of COVID-19-related policies and incorporate the Siracusa Principles into national, state/provincial, and local laws and policies.

Identify specific populations that may be affected by particular policies and interventions and understand the specific risks and challenges arising from these policies. Example: Add local, state/provincial, and national-level reporting requirements on the differential impacts of public policies, such as stratification by gender, race, ethnicity, income, etc.

Improve data collection related to vulnerable populations and factors related to human rights and health equity for these groups. Example: Relay qualitative and quantitative feedback from monitoring public policy directly to policy makers to inform them about the impact of policies and the data needs for policy monitoring.

Use these data to guide the development of more robust, targeted public health policies and to refocus existing policies and interventions by centering the COVID-19 response around the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. Example: Ensure that future public health policies consider the impacts on vulnerable communities and that protections are formally integrated into legislation.

Focus support and resources on communities known to be particularly affected by specific policies. Example: Provide financial, social, and health service support for communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.