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What is already known on this topic? African Americans are more likely to contract coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), be hospitalized for it, and die of the disease when compared with other racial/ethnic groups. Psychosocial, sociocultural, and environmental vulnerabilities, compounded by preexisting health conditions, exacerbate this health disparity. What is added by this report? This report adds to an understanding of the interconnected historical, policy, clinical, and community factors associated with pandemic risk, which underpin community-based participatory research approaches to advance the art and science of community engagement among African Americans in the COVID-19 era. What are the implications for public health practice? When considered together, the factors detailed in this commentary create opportunities for new approaches to intentionally engage socially vulnerable African Americans. The proposed response strategies will proactively prepare public health leaders for the next pandemic and advance community leadership toward health equity.

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The science of eliminating health disparities is complex and dependent on demographic data. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) encourages the adoption of electronic health records and requires basic demographic data collection; however, current data generated are insufficient to address known health disparities in vulnerable populations, including individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, with disabilities, and with diverse sexual identities. We conducted an administrative history of HITECH and identified gaps between the policy objective and required measure. We identified 20 opportunities for change and 5 changes, 2 of which required the collection of less data. Until health care demographic data collection requirements are consistent with public health requirements, the national goal of eliminating health disparities cannot be realized.

Health disparities have persisted despite decades of efforts to eliminate them at the national, regional, state and local levels. Policies have been a driving force in creat­ing and exacerbating health disparities, but they can also play a major role in eliminat­ing disparities. Research evidence and input from affected community-level stakeholders are critical components of evidence-based health policy that will advance health equi­ty. The Transdisciplinary Collaborative Cen­ter (TCC) for Health Disparities Research at Morehouse School of Medicine consists of five subprojects focused on studying and informing health equity policy related to maternal-child health, mental health, health information technology, diabetes, and leadership/workforce development. This article describes a “health equity lens” as defined, operationalized and applied by the TCC to inform health policy development, implementation, and analysis. Prioritizing health equity in laws and organizational policies provides an upstream foundation for ensuring that the laws are implemented at the midstream and downstream lev­els to advance health equity. Ethn Dis. 2019;29(Suppl 2):329-342; doi:10.18865/ed.29.S2.329.