Enhancing Health Equity in Emergencies: Implementing an Equity Officer in Public Health Emergency Responses

Abstract

Emergencies, particularly those with public health impacts, disproportionately affect priority populations, thereby exacerbating existing health disparities. To address these challenges, emergency management practitioners across various sectors must explore actionable ways to enhance health equity throughout the emergency management cycle. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Ottawa Public Health conducted an environmental scan and literature review that revealed limited research or resources on how to fully incorporate equity into an emergency response structure. This paper examines local initiatives in Ottawa, Ontario during emergency responses, and the need for a formal role to support those most negatively impacted. These findings led to the development of an Equity Officer position, along with a role-specific checklist. The authors recommend the implementation of this unique role, thus ensuring a core member of the incident command team is dedicated to providing support to priority populations and recommend tailored response actions during an emergency.