In mid-2021, PCCI experts, along with co-authors from William & Mary published an article in the DESRIST 2021: The Next Wave of Sociotechnical Design pp 22-33, outlining how PCCI developed a COVID-19 vulnerability index that was used by Dallas-area health officials to identify populations in Dallas most at-risk.

DESRIST 2021: The Next Wave of Sociotechnical Design pp 22-33

ABSTRACT:
In early 2020, many community leaders faced high uncertainty regarding their local communities’ health and safety, which impacts their response to the pandemic, public health messaging, and other factors in guiding their communities on how to remain healthy. Making decisions regarding resources was particularly difficult in Dallas, Texas, USA where local communities face stark differences in social determinants of health, such as availability of fresh foods and environmental pollution. We use an action design research approach to develop an index to assess vulnerability, which incorporates both long-term COVID-19 community risk measures and ongoing dynamic measures of the pandemic. Community and public health officials utilize the index in making critical policy and strategic decisions while guiding their communities during COVID-19 and in future crises.

AUTHORS
Thomas Roderick, PCCI, Yolande Pengetnze, PCCI, Steve Miff, PCCI, Monica Chiarini Tremblay, College of William and Mary, Rajiv Kohli, College of William and Mary