HEALTH EQUITY ACTION PLAN
released | July 2026
HEALTH EQUITY ACTION PLAN
INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
The Health Equity Action Plan (HEAP) serves as a central framework that organizes, guides, and evaluates Ventura County Public Health’s (VCPH) efforts to reduce health inequities. As one of the department’s primary guiding documents, it aligns with VCPH’s overarching goal to improve population health outcomes for all Ventura County residents, especially communities experiencing the greatest disparities. HEAP is built around three priority areas workforce development, policy development, and data collection and evaluation which together establish the foundation for advancing equity and strengthening community health.
Because no single standardized list of health equity principles exists, the Office for Health Equity conducted a broad review of organizational values to identify those most closely aligned with VCPH vision, mission, and goals. As a result, HEAP was refined to incorporate health equity principles recognized by leading national and global entities, including the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and the World Health Organization (WHO). These updates also reflect findings from the VCPH 2023 My Health Equity Survey, the State Health Equity Plan, and the VCPH Strategic Plan priority areas. The full list of 10 Health Equity Principles can be found in Appendix III.
The Health Equity Principles and the 10 Essential Public Health Services (10 EPHS) serve to guide activities within each priority area identified in this plan. The Health Equity Principles define VCPH values fairness, justice, and equitable access to health while the 10 EPHS outline core public health functions needed to protect and promote community well-being. Together, they provide both the “why” (principles) and the “what and how” (10 EPHS) of VCPH’s equity efforts.
The overarching goal of HEAP is to advance health equity and improve community health by strengthening VCPH’s work across the three priority areas. Guided by Health Equity Principles and the 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS), HEAP provides a unifying framework for organizing and aligning equity-focused activities across the department. This alignment equips VCPH to more effectively identify and address systemic factors driving health disparities, establish consistent and coordinated approaches, strengthen accountability, and build trust with historically marginalized communities. It also ensures that VCPH’s efforts remain aligned with state and national public health priorities.
HEAP serves as a practical tool and resource guide that helps VCPH programs plan, organize, and evaluate their services with a clear focus on advancing health equity. By supporting the workforce, informing policy development, and strengthening data collection and evaluation practices, HEAP helps ensure consistent progress toward equity and improved population health across Ventura County. Through this structure, HEAP fosters a coherent, coordinated, and impactful approach to achieving health equity.
Background
The VCPH Office for Health Equity (OHE) conducted a series of My Health Equity Surveys from department teams, community partners, and vendors. These surveys identified key health equity gaps and needs, which were then prioritized for inclusion in the department’s Health Equity Action Plan (HEAP).
The following were instrumental in informing this HEAP: the VCPH 2023-2025 Strategic Plan, the VCPH 2023-2025 Workforce Development Assessment & Plan, and the annual California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Organizational Assessment for Equity Infrastructure, first conducted in 2022 and every year thereafter. The results of these assessments helped to identify the three priority areas: 1) Workforce Training, 2) Policy Development, and 3) Data Collection and Evaluation.
These priority areas align with the findings of the baseline organizational assessment, VCPH’s Workforce Development Assessment & Plan, and the department’s Strategic Plan. This plan serves as a guiding document that defines and describes the three priorities, along with their corresponding goals, objectives, implementation strategies, and evaluation measures.
Frameworks and Methodologies
Several frameworks informed the development of this HEAP, with the State Health Equity Plan (SHEP) serving as its foundation. SHEP incorporates Organizational Assessment results from local health jurisdictions participating in the annual California CDPH Organizational Assessment for Equity Infrastructure (OAEI). VCPH used the findings from the SHEP assessment to ensure alignment with HEAP priority areas. The State’s Plan functions both as an overarching framework for organizing, communicating, and aligning equity-focused activities and for elevating innovative and effective practices and as a shared equity strategy and implementation plan to collectively advance health equity over the next three to five years. VCPH will continue to conduct the OAEI annually and share best practices with CDPH to support the SHEP framework.
The 10 Essential Public Health Services (EPHS) framework guided the development of the VCPH 2023 My Health Equity Survey tool, informed the data analysis approach, and supported activities across all three tiers. Early in the process, VCPH staff also received training to strengthen department-wide understanding of the EPHS and their role in advancing health equity. Moving forward, this framework will continue to be used to assess how programs demonstrate and align their work with the EPHS elements.
The SMARTIE Objectives framework was adopted to create a consistent, equity-centered approach for developing goals and objectives across VCPH. By embedding inclusion and equity into each step of planning, SMARTIE helps programs consider who benefits, who may be overlooked, and how outcomes advance fairness. It offers a clear method for turning broad equity principles into actionable commitments and creates a shared standard that strengthens alignment across programs. SMARTIE Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, inclusive, and equitable.
SMARTIE objectives developed by department programs will define equity-focused efforts within VCPH and support ongoing capacity building, progress evaluation, and measurement of success. Embedding equity through SMARTIE was identified by CDPH in 2023 as a best practice
Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Quality
Improvement Approach
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Quality Improvement approach is used here to guide implementation of the three priority areas.
The PDSA cycle is a practical framework that allows public health departments to test small changes, evaluate their effectiveness, and refine strategies to achieve better results. Using this approach, each of the three priority areas –workforce development, policy development, and data collection & evaluation – is actively implemented, assessed, and continuously improved, as illustrated here.
Plan
Workforce Development
Policy Development
Data Collection and Evaluation
Deliver health equity training to VCPH staff and community partners, using ongoing participant feedback to refine content and improve effectiveness.
Build workforce capacity to deliver services clearly and accurately in clients’ preferred languages.
Do Study Act
Develop a Health Equity Training Plan. Pilot and deliver training.
Create a plan to assess needs and provide training.
Gather ongoing participant feedback, analyze to identify improvements, and refine training content and delivery.
Gather ongoing participant feedback, analyze to identify improvements, and refine training content and delivery.
Monitor outcomes and report progress.
Monitor outcomes and report progress.
Deliver training that improves staff ability to create, use, and monitor SMARTIE objectives effectively, and an annual assessment to measure VCPH progress in advancing health equity.
Develop SMARTIE Training Plan. Partner with the Performance Excellence Committee (PEC) to test the lesson plan. Deliver training. Conduct annual assessment.
Gather ongoing participant feedback, analyze to identify improvements, and refine training content and delivery.
Monitor outcomes and report progress.
Using results from the VCPH 2023 My Health Equity Survey and the work of the Action Planning Workshops (APW), a crosswalk of related documents was created, including the SHEP, VCPH Strategic Plan Priorities, Workforce Development, and the Office for Health Equity
The survey results and workshops identified three Health Equity Action Plan (3) priority areas, three goals, four objectives, and 28 activities:
Health Equity Action Plan (HEAP) Priority Areas
HEAP Priority Area
Priority Area 1
Priority Area 2
Priority Area 3
*See appendices I and II
Workforce Development
Aligned Health Equity Principles*
Principles 5, 6, 9, 10
Policy Development
Principles 1–5, 9, 10
Primary Focus
Building staff capacity, skills, and equity-centered practices.
Embedding equity into policies, addressing SDOH, and strengthening community engagement
Data Collection and Evaluation
Principles 7–8
How Goals and Objectives Align with Priority Areas
Workforce Development
Policy Development
Goal 1: VCPH will expand workforce capacity to embed health equity principles into day-to-day practices.
Advancing data equity, performance metrics, and accountability.
Data Collection and Evaluation
Goal 2: VCPH will build workforce capacity to deliver services in the preferred language clearly and accurately.
Objective 1:
Offer Health Equity Training to the workforce and community.
Goal 3: VCPH will expand program capacity to collect and evaluate data.
Objective 2:
Assess language access and justice, share recommendations, and create a plan.
Objective 3:
Establish a department-wide policy for accessing translation services.
Objective 4:
Improve the implementation of the SMARTIE Objective process.
Objective 5:
Conduct the Assessment for Equity
Infrastructure to continue measuring and enhancing equity-driven decision-making across the department.
Priority Area 1: Workforce Development
Goal 1: Expand workforce capacity to embed health equity principles into day-to-day practices.
Objective 1: Offer Health Equity Training to the workforce and community.
1.1 Develop a Health Equity Training Plan Written training plan outlining goals, content, trainers, delivery, methods, schedule, and evaluation approach.
1.2 Create/Update Healthy Equity Curriculum Slide decks, facilitator guides, and participant materials.
1.3 Pilot the training with a small group of staff Pilot session(s) delivered; feedback collected.
1.4 Deliver Training to VCPH Workforce Regular training session; attendance roster
1.5 Deliver Training to Community Partners Workshops or presentations, partner-specific materials, sign-in sheets
1.6 Gather ongoing Participant Feedback Examples: Posttraining surveys, quick polls, focus groups, and anonymized comments
Office for Health Equity (OHE)
October 2026 Training plan completed and approved.
OHE
Performance Excellence Council (PEC)
January 2027 Curriculum finalized, materials accessible to staff.
March 2027 Pilot completed; >80% report that the training was valuable.
OHE
Community Partner Network (Creando Comunidad)
OHE
June 2027 # staff trained, increased post-training knowledge/ confidence
June 2026 # partners trained improved, understandin g of equity concepts
Ongoing High response rate, actionable feedback collected.
1.7 Analyze Feedback and Identify Improvements Quarterly feedback summary, list of curriculum updates needed
1.8 Refine Training Content and Delivery Updated slides, examples, scenarios, and facilitation techniques.
1.9 Monitor Outcomes and Report Progress Training metrics dashboard, quarterly report
OHE June 2027 Feedback themes documented; recommendat ion produced
OHE Ongoing Improved satisfaction scores; increased clarity and relevance.
OHE Quarterly Evidence of training impact: increased application of equity principles in practice.
Priority Area 2: Policy Development
Goal 2: Build workforce capacity to deliver services in the preferred language clearly and accurately
Objective 2: Assess language access and justice, share recommendations, and create a plan.
2.1 Conduct a Language Access Needs Assessment Strengths identified: priority focus areas
2.2 Provide orientation on interpreter training at the managers' meeting. Annual orientation; roster
2.3 Provide Healthcare Interpretatio n Training for bilingual Spanish and English fluent Staff 40-hour Healthcare Interpretation Training
2.4 Offer a Peer Learning Environment Teams Channel where trained healthcare interpreters can convene to ask questions, join skill-building sessions, and get peer support
2.5 Implement Feedback & Monitoring Systems Customer Experience Survey
OHE and Public Information Officer (PIO) August 2025 Needs Assessment completed; gaps identified
OHE and VCMC Language Access and Interpreter Services
OHE and VCMC Language Access and Interpreter Services
August 2026 % staff trained; post-training knowledge increase
OHE and VCMC Language Access and Interpreter Services
April, June, Septembe r 2026 # staff trained; tests with passing scores
March 2026 # active interpreters, # skill-building sessions
OHE, Customer service survey dashboard, Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Ongoing % of clients reporting services in preferred language; accuracy/clarity ratings
2.6 Continuous Quality Improvement Quarterly surveys; updated materials or training based on findings
OHE and VCMC Language Access and Interpreter Services
Quarterly Improvements implemented, upward trends in language access metrics
Objective 3: Establish a department-wide policy for accessing translation services. Activity
3.1 Strengthenin g Systems and Tools Updated Language Access Policy, Language Access Toolkit
3.2 Improve Interpretatio n Access Processes Standard operating procedure for requesting interpreters, staff instruction guide
OHE, VCPH Administration, Network of trained interpreters
OHE, VCPH Administration, Performance Excellence Council (PEC)
June 2027 Policy updated, toolkit published
June 2027 Approved procedure, widespread rollout
Priority Area 3: Data Collection and Evaluation
Goal 3: Expand program capacity to collect and evaluate data.
Objective 4: Improve the implementation of the SMARTIE Objective process.
Activities
4.1 Review and update SMARTIE Training Plan
Written plan outlining goals, curriculum components, trainers, delivery schedule, and evaluation methods
4.2 Create or Update SMARTIE Curriculum Slide deck, examples, templates, lesson plan, and checklist for SMARTIE alignment
4.3 Provide Introductory SMARTIE Workshops
4.4 Offer advanced SMARTIE Clinics (Hands-On Writing Sessions)
4.5 Review or Update Tools to Support SMARTIE Use
Staff trained in creating SMARTIE objectives, session rosters, and practice activities
Small group coaching sessions; improved draft objectives, one-onone support
SMARTIE objective template, quick reference guide, examples repository
OHE
December 2026 Training plan completed and approved
OHE
January 2027
Curriculum finalized, template accessible to staff
OHE, Performance Improvement (PI) and Accreditation Coordinator
OHE, PI, and Accreditation Coordinator
March 2027 # staff trained, increased knowledge in postsurveys
March 2027 % of programs with revised/stronger SMARTIE objectives
OHE, PEC, and PI and Accreditation Coordinator
Ongoing
Tools distributed, staff report ease of use
4.6 Support Monitoring Process
4.7 Collect Participant Feedback
4.8 Refine Training Based on Feedback
4.9 Report Progress and Outcomes
Review protocol for assessing objective quality, quarterly SMARTIE review schedule
Post-training and post-clinic surveys, suggestions for improvement
Updated materials, clearer examples, and additional practice sessions
Quarterly summary of training attendance, objective quality improvements, and staff feedback on My Health Equity Dashboard
OHE, PEC, and PI and Accreditation Coordinator Ongoing Increased consistency and quality of submitted objectives
OHE, PEC, and PI and Accreditation Coordinator Ongoing High satisfaction ratings, actionable feedback gathered
OHE, PEC, and PI and Accreditation Coordinator Ongoing
Improved clarity scores and objective quality
OHE, PEC, and PI and Accreditation Coordinator June 2027 Evidence of skill growth and increased SMARTIE adoption; number of objectives submitted, not adopted.
Objective 5: Complete the Assessment for Equity Infrastructure to continue measuring and enhancing equity-driven decision-making across the department.
5.1 Conduct the assessment Completed assessment, report of findings shared with leadership and staff.
5.2 Monitor progress and equity indicators Annual progress report published, equity metrics tracked and shared on My Health Equity Dashboard on SharePoint.
September
and
November 2026 and 2027
Assessment completed, Findings disseminated department-wide
Publish the progress of Indicators that show positive movement
APPENDICES
Appendix I | Glossary of Terms
The Glossary of Terms lists the terms used in this Plan, along with definitions and examples.
Appendix II | Health Equity Principles Mapped to Their Sources
No single organization has established a comprehensive set of health equity principles. To ensure VCPH’s Health Equity Action Plan (HEAP) Priority Areas aligned with leading health equity practices, research was conducted across national and international organizations. Key sources included the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Healthy People 2030, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Findings from these organizations informed the identification of the top 10 health equity principles reflected in HEAP.
Appendix III | Health Equity Principles Aligned to HEAP Priority Areas
This chart illustrates how the Health Equity Principles align with VCPH’s Health Equity Action Plan (HEAP) Priority Areas. It highlights the ten Health Equity Principles most closely aligned with each priority area and provides examples of corresponding strategies and objectives.
Appendix IV | Action Planning Worksheet
The Action Planning Worksheet was used to identify the top three actions VCPH would take to advance health equity across the department. These priorities were informed by a gap and needs assessment based on organizational assessment activities conducted in 2023, with participation from workforce Tiers I, II, and III. Action items were collected, reviewed, and voted on throughout the planning process. In the final phase, senior leadership (Tier III) selected the top priorities. Champions from this group were then assigned to oversee the operationalization and implementation of the actions.
Appendix V | Crossover of VCPH Priorities and SMARTIE Objectives with State Health Equity Plan (SHEP) 2024 –2025
This document is a crossover of the VCPH 2023-2025 Strategic Plan strategies and objectives and the CDPH SHEP domains and areas of focus.
Appendix VI | SMARTIE Objectives Exemplifying the 10 EPHS
This appendix item includes the VCPH programs that are exemplified in the delivery of services to meet the objective. The objectives were selected because they were met, and the program incorporates one or more of the 10 EPHS.
Appendix VII | SMARTIE Objective Example
This item provides an example of the report prepared for the VCPH workforce, showing how a program can advance health equity by demonstrating how to deliver essential public health services within one or two focus areas of the 10 EPHS framework and by encouraging collaboration through resources.
Appendix VIII | My Health Equity Findings Identified Gaps
This is the report on the gaps and needs identified in the My Health Equity Surveys (Parts 1 and 2), staff focus groups, and management interviews.