Equitable Recruitment Material Templates for Expanding Health Councils

Dec 12

New Mexico County and Tribal Health Councils are gaining greater capacity to implement the requirements outlined for them in the 2019 County and Tribal Health Councils Act (HB 137). As they promote equity in all areas affecting population health, they may want to increase their membership numbers and diversity (in their Councils as a whole, Core teams, and/or their health equity committees).

General templates (letter, card or email format) were prepared for possible use in inviting or recruiting a more diverse membership. These formats can be changed and adapted to fit any health council’s needs or wants, depending on their own situation, environment and populations. The templates are offered as a means to save some time and provide some guidance in inviting new members.

It's recommended that, before invitations and/or recruitment are initiated, health councils first consider health equity questions or guidelines. At the very least, health council members should take into account the first steps (Steps #1 and #2) in the Racial Equity Impact Assessment Guide created by Race Forward. In short, this means:

Identify racial/ethnic (and other) groups that have been and/or are likely to be most affected by and concerned with the issues related to the mission of the health council.
- Consider not just racial/ethnic groups, but other populations who are also socio- economically marginalized and who often don’t have a voice. You may wish to make a list, including: those with disabilities; low-income; from different regions within the county or tribal area; LGBTQ+ populations; seniors; veterans; young people and children; small business owners; and many more.
Identify, among those groups, who is missing from your health council “table,” and how can they best be motivated to participate and be engaged.
- Consider in advance whether your meeting locations/times are safe, easy to access, welcoming, language-friendly, and whether the way you hold or conduct your meetings will allow everyone to be heard, respected, acknowledged, authentically represented, informed, and meaningfully involved in a safe way.

This process should help in better identifying those you want to add to your membership.

These materials were prepared by Chris Hollis, a Health Equity Specialist at the NM Department of Health (NW/Metro Region). If you have any questions about these materials please contact Chris at christine.hollis@state.nm.us.