Centering family voice during a public health crisis: Challenge and opportunity for health collaborations and community systems of care.

Introduction: Evidence is lacking about how to integrate family and community voice into systems of care. This is particularly relevant in public health crises when reducing barriers to health care and resources is critical for everyone, but especially community members who typically experience more barriers to care. Addressing this gap, this study investigated the voice strategies used by systems of care to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: We conducted semi-structured interviews in three U.S. counties with agency leaders representing healthcare, public health, and early childhood partners in local systems of care (n = 15) and resource navigators who worked with families (n = 4).

Results: We found that systems of care were better able to identify and respond to family priorities when they used diverse voice strategies, implemented among multiple agencies involved and at multiple time points. Family and community voice helped uncover blind spots in the crisis response, facilitating reaching more individuals in need. Flexibility in safety net service policies and protocols was critical to each organization in the system of care.

Discussion: Systems of care that develop a multi-dimensional approach to voice strategies that can be readily mobilized in a public health crisis will be more apt to meet emerging needs. Questions remain about whether power sharing that occurred in the context of crisis translates into reform that builds out from family priorities. Common issues to meeting family needs that could be addressed prior to a crisis included outdated resource lists, confusing application processes, poorly translated materials, and insufficient broadband access. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).