Collaborative Learning Through Diverse Stakeholders in Public Health Supply Chain Logistics and Emergency Response Planning

Abstract

One of the most distressing aspects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the U.S. is the lopsided damage that it has triggered to poor communities and communities of color. COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of new approaches to community engagement, community support, and cultural competence related to public health logistics planning, supply chain response, and service of people of color in the U.S. because of past inequities in terms of advance warning, health education, and aid to certain communities. An escape room training experience was used to allow participants from minority communities, emergency response planners, and policy makers to engage each other in a collective learning experience. There was tremendous value for the managers because they were able to engage with culturally diverse participants in a way that allowed them to understand problem-solving from different lenses when they plan and set priorities about community aid and support in future public health emergencies.