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Scope of Work <br />STATEMENT OF NEED <br />Orange County (OC) is the sixth most populous county in the US, with large health <br />inequities affecting Latinos and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) who compose <br />55% of its 3.2 million inhabitants. More than 588,000 residents of the City of Santa Ana and <br />the surrounding North OC area (up to 10 miles from city center) live in 92 census tracts that <br />fall in the highest quartile of the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI; see Appendix 5). <br />Residents of these high-SVI areas face barriers to accessing COVID-19 resources and to <br />meeting Healthy People 2030 (HP2030) objectives for health literacy. They make up 18% of <br />OC's total population, but 41% of its confirmed COVID-cases and 43% of COVID <br />deaths. Latino and AAPI older adults (65+) in these areas have been vaccinated in proportions <br />10-20% lower than those of the total older adult population. In health care settings, they face <br />language and access barriers that impede understanding (HC/HIT-01), communication <br />(HC/HIT-02) and shared decision -making (HC/HIT-03). With COVID-19, inequities have grown <br />as these communities face increased discrimination and violence, myths spread through ethnic <br />media and social networks, and language and technical barriers with vaccine registration apps. <br />The City, through its Santa Ana CARES campaign (see bit.ly/sacaresvideo) has <br />illuminated burdens and assets unique to North OC, and gaps in leadership in the County's <br />(OC Health Care Agency; OCHCA) responses to inequities in high SVI areas. Since May <br />2020, the OC Health Equity COVID-19 Community Academic Partnership (OCHEC-CAP) <br />has convened community leaders and academic partners from a Minority Serving Institution to <br />fill these gaps. Santa Ana is partnering with OCHEC-CAP to develop a Disparities Impact <br />Statement and implement the Health Equity And Literacy in OC (HEAL-OC) Initiative. <br />