Reports on Missouri's Public Health Response to COVID-19

In May 2020, Missouri Foundation for Health called for an evaluation of Missouri’s public health system’s capacity to respond to COVID-19. In the study titled Strengthening Missouri’s Capacity to Respond to Public Health Crises, the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health researchers use a case-study approach to document the experiences of professional stakeholders involved in the response and residents’ personal experiences from three geographically diverse regions of Missouri. Three regional reports from the Northeast, Southwest, and the St. Louis regions of Missouri highlight findings from interviews and focus groups conducted between fall 2020 and spring 2021, before the emergence of the delta and omicron variants. The report, Experiences of Black and Latino Residents During the COVID-19 Response in Missouri, features key findings and lessons learned from focus groups and interviews from Black and Latino Missourians and professional stakeholders involved in the state’s response. Lessons from the focus group and regional conversations were used to inform a state report, Missouri’s Public Health Response to COVID-19: Key Findings and Recommendations for State Action and Investment, which offers cross-cutting recommendations for Missouri’s state and local public health leaders to strengthen the state’s public health system’s capacity to respond to future public health crises.