5.B. Round table: From Knowledge to Action: Inclusive & Tailored Interventions for Underserved Groups

The disease burden of COVID-19 infection, morbidity, and mortality is unevenly distributed across different groups in the population, affecting especially those of lower socioeconomic status, and with a migration background. The one-size-fits all policy and practice approach during the COVID-19 pandemic did not reach certain subgroups of the population. Information campaigns, access to vaccination and testing facilities were not tailored to the barriers experienced in some communities. Furthermore, behavioral insights studies were not sufficiently targeted for different population groups, including those underserved. Although behavioral insights were gathered during the global pandemic, implementing them in the pandemic response remained a challenge for policy makers. The pandemic shined a spotlight on the existing disparities in health and the unmet needs of underserved groups. In the absence of a coordinated government approach to address health inequities, local, bottom-up interventions emerged to address underserved groups’ needs. Examples include the COVID-19 vaccination doubt line initiated by medical professionals of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and doctors offering information about vaccinations in marketplaces and other public areas such as churches and mosques. Lessons from these interventions can guide policy makers and health care professionals in designing more tailored and inclusive approaches, addressing the beliefs, needs and fears of underserved groups specifically. Against this background, this solution-based workshop will bring together representatives from healthcare, public health, academia and WHO to: 1. leverage their experience and share practical examples of interventions for underserved groups during COVID-19 from different countries, 2. discuss which targeted and structural interventions are needed as well as 3. which structures, expertise, capacities, stakeholders, and tools are required to ensure that no one is left behind. KEY MESSAGES: • What is needed to translate available knowledge into action for more effective preparedness and response to pandemic threats. • How to ensure that tailored interventions reach those that need them most. SPEAKERS/PANELISTS: Prabhjot Kour University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Katrine Bach Habersaat WHO/Europe, Copenhagen OE, Denmark Robin Peeters Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands Shakib Sana Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands Anja Schreijer Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands