Leder Sarah C, List Justin M, Chandra Rachel, Jones Kenneth T, Moy Ernest
Office of Health Equity, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Health Equity. 2023 May 26;7(1):296-302. doi: 10.1089/heq.2023.0002. eCollection 2023.
As novel coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) began to spread across the United States in early 2020, health care systems faced extreme demands on resources. As the country's largest single-payer health care system, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was uniquely positioned to study how the virus impacted different communities and work to improve care provided to all. Early on, a literature review of prior epidemics revealed that occupational exposures and an inability to socially distance could impact some groups more than others. The VA's Office of Health Equity leveraged a general sense of community to create a collaborative research space and a dedicated analytic space to inform pandemic operations. VA researchers and operations staff were able to quickly share information and respond to updates to produce accurate and reliable publications for medical professionals and the general public. Partnerships with VA Medical Centers and Veteran Service Organizations helped to increase communication across the nation and determine the most critical needs. Although COVID-19 was dynamic in nature, VA's intentional examination of social and structural factors was crucial in informing a more equitable approach. Moving forward, these inequities must be intentionally addressed in future pandemic responses.
2020年初，随着2019新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）开始在美国蔓延，医疗保健系统面临着巨大的资源需求。作为美国最大的单一支付方医疗保健系统，美国退伍军人事务部（VA）在研究病毒如何影响不同社区以及努力改善为所有人提供的护理方面具有独特的地位。早期，对既往疫情的文献综述显示，职业暴露和无法保持社交距离对某些群体的影响可能比对其他群体更大。VA的健康公平办公室利用社区的整体意识创建了一个合作研究空间和一个专门的分析空间，为疫情应对行动提供信息。VA的研究人员和运营人员能够迅速分享信息并对最新情况做出回应，为医学专业人员和公众撰写准确可靠的出版物。与VA医疗中心和退伍军人服务组织的合作有助于加强全国范围内的沟通，并确定最关键的需求。尽管COVID-19本质上具有动态性，但VA对社会和结构因素的有意审视对于形成更公平的应对方法至关重要。展望未来，这些不平等问题必须在未来的疫情应对中得到有意解决。
