People living in underserved and racially segregated neighborhoods may be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 deaths, according to a Duquesne study.
One of the first studies of its kind, the research studied data from more than 3,100 counties in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia to determine COVID-19’s effect on segregated populations. The results were recently published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
“Counties with a higher proportion of the population residing in racially or socioeconomically segregated neighborhoods had disproportionately higher COVID-19 deaths,” said Dr. Ahmad Khanijahani, researcher and assistant professor of health administration and public health at the Rangos School of Health Sciences. “And, living in both a low socioeconomic and segregated Black neighborhood was associated with even higher COVID-19 mortalities.”
Several characteristics of highly segregated Black and low-socioeconomic neighborhoods can increase the risk factors of coronavirus infection and death, Khanijahani said. Environmental factors, such as higher air pollution levels and living closer to factories and waste dumps, are more likely to be present in racially and socioeconomically segregated neighborhoods, he said. Higher levels of air pollution are associated with increased COVID-19 deaths.
“At the individual level, Black and low-income individuals are more likely to be employed as essential workers, placing them at greater risk to COVID-19,” Khanijahani said. “These individuals are also disproportionally impacted by homelessness or reside in housing units with limited space that makes isolating infected family members difficult or impossible.”
Segregated socioeconomic areas were defined by the percentages of the population living below the federal poverty level, households on public assistance, female-headed households, unemployment rates, and adults over 25 years old whose education was less than a high school degree.
The study may be helpful to public health policymakers and practitioners, who could use the results to identify areas requiring increased education and support.
“Our findings underscore the need to consider neighborhood-level characteristics in designing and implementing COVID-19 interventions,” Khanijahani said. “For example, we may need to rethink about the infrastructure needed to distribute the testing kits and vaccines in these neighborhoods, where many people may not have a convenient means of transportation to a health center.”
This study reflects Duquesne’s strength in analyzing research data to both expand student horizons and improve community health. The Rangos School of Health Sciences is the only university in the Pittsburgh area to offer an undergraduate public health degree.