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Office of Health Equity outlines strategic prioritization, SF Voices pilot and REAP progress
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Summary
The Office of Health Equity presented a strategic reprioritization, plans to operationalize equity goals with A3 metrics, a small 'SF Voices' outreach pilot (103 respondents from populations often missed by surveys), and next steps on the department's Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP).
Navina Baba, acting director of the Office of Health Equity (OHE), and Deputy Director Jenny Chacon updated the Health Commission on OHE’s strategic work, infrastructure assessments and a pilot community engagement tool called SF Voices.
OHE said it revised its vision and mission to emphasize targeted universalism—setting universal goals while tailoring strategies to communities most affected by disparities—and to strengthen department‑wide coordination. The office described a recent strategic prioritization process carried out with a consultant, which led to four top recommendations: clarify OHE’s role and vision; strengthen coordination across DPH divisions; enhance communications and transparency; and expand training delivery methods to reach off‑shift and nonclinical staff.
OHE reported progress on three A3 goal areas for 2025: health disparity reduction (focused on chronic disease measures such as hypertension and ischemic heart disease), patient experience disparities across the DPH network, and community engagement capacity. Chacon said the office is establishing baselines and metrics and has engaged equity leads and executives for feedback while building phased plans for measurement.
SF Voices pilot: OHE described a small pilot that used text, web and QR code outreach to reach populations typically undercounted in standard surveys. The pilot (103 respondents total) targeted four groups identified as underrepresented: Indigenous Latin American communities, Samoan community members, transgender people, and Native Americans. OHE said the pilot yielded quantitative and qualitative data that aligned with the community health assessment (CHA) and produced lessons about trust, language access and tailored outreach. The presenters cautioned the sample was small but said the method can be scaled to provide ongoing community input for the CHA and the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
REAP and organizational self‑assessment: OHE described the department’s internal Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP) and noted that divisions complete annual self‑assessments using the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) framework. OHE said five DPH divisions are at an "established" level of progress while others report earlier or planning stages; the office will adopt a fourth category, “visualize,” focused on creating a shared aspirational goal built on targeted universalism.
Ending: Commissioners asked about follow‑up, how OHE will use pilot findings to refine engagement, and how to track grants and potential funding gaps. OHE said it is coordinating with Population Health and other DPH divisions to integrate the pilot’s lessons into the CHA/CHIP process and to monitor grant impacts.
