Social and physical environment disparities contribute to mortality outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Mah, Jasmine, Kulkarni, Aparna, Forman, Rebecca ORCID: 0000-0002-0124-9997 and Mossialos, Elias ORCID: 0000-0001-8664-9297 (2021) Social and physical environment disparities contribute to mortality outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Journal of Health Policy and Economics, 1 (1). ISSN 2732-4729

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• https://johpec.lse.ac.uk/articles/25

Abstract

Demographic patterns suggest that fatalities from Covid-19 are disproportionately high in Black and Hispanic communities in the United States. This short commentary postulates that disparities in social & economic status and physical environment, with their resultant inequities, may also be contributing to high fatality rates. The top ten counties in the United States with the highest COVID-19 fatalities (as of May 16, 2020) from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus resource center were compared to county-level population density, racial demographics, socioeconomic status and physical environment factors. We conclude by recommending a multi-pronged response approach with coordination between health systems and local governments using county-level data to identify social disparity ‘hotspots’ where extra resources can be allocated and targeted interventions can be implemented.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://johpec.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Authors
Divisions:	Health Policy LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D60 - General I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I10 - General
Date Deposited:	21 Aug 2023 14:15
Last Modified:	20 Mar 2024 12:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120026

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