Kristen M Brown1, Jessica Y Lewis2, Sharon K Davis2. 1. National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, Social and Behavioral Research Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit. Electronic address: kristen.brown3@nih.gov. 2. National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, Social and Behavioral Research Branch, Social Epidemiology Research Unit.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on American life. However, the burden of the pandemic has not been distributed equally. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether racial and economic residential segregation were associated with COVID-19 related factors in the nation's capital, Washington D.C., during the first year of the pandemic. METHODS: Racial, economic, and racialized economic segregation were assessed using the Index of Concentration at the Extremes measure and data from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey. COVID-19 related factors (i.e., incidence, testing rate, and percent positivity) were assessed using data from the Washington D.C. government. Spearman rank correlation was used to assess the relationship between each segregation measure and each COVID-19 related factor. RESULTS: Washington D.C. neighborhoods with a higher concentration of African Americans, lower income residents, and African Americans with low income had a higher incidence of COVID-19 and greater percent positivity, but lower testing rates compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: There is a geographic mismatch between neighborhoods most vulnerable to COVID-19 and the neighborhoods where the testing resources are being used. More resources should be allocated to the most vulnerable neighborhoods to address the COVID-19 pandemic in an equitable manner.
PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on American life. However, the burden of the pandemic has not been distributed equally. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether racial and economic residential segregation were associated with COVID-19 related factors in the nation's capital, Washington D.C., during the first year of the pandemic. METHODS: Racial, economic, and racialized economic segregation were assessed using the Index of Concentration at the Extremes measure and data from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey. COVID-19 related factors (i.e., incidence, testing rate, and percent positivity) were assessed using data from the Washington D.C. government. Spearman rank correlation was used to assess the relationship between each segregation measure and each COVID-19 related factor. RESULTS: Washington D.C. neighborhoods with a higher concentration of African Americans, lower income residents, and African Americans with low income had a higher incidence of COVID-19 and greater percent positivity, but lower testing rates compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: There is a geographic mismatch between neighborhoods most vulnerable to COVID-19 and the neighborhoods where the testing resources are being used. More resources should be allocated to the most vulnerable neighborhoods to address the COVID-19 pandemic in an equitable manner.
Authors: Teresa Janevic; Whitney Lieb; Erona Ibroci; Jezelle Lynch; Molly Lieber; Nina M Molenaar; Anna-Sophie Rommel; Lotje de Witte; Sophie Ohrn; Juan Manuel Carreño; Florian Krammer; Lauren B Zapata; Margaret Christine Snead; Rachel I Brody; Rebecca H Jessel; Stephanie Sestito; Alan Adler; Omara Afzal; Frederieke Gigase; Roy Missall; Daniel Carrión; Joanne Stone; Veerle Bergink; Siobhan M Dolan; Elizabeth A Howell Journal: Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM Date: 2022-04-21