COVID-19 and Health Disparities

Below is a sample of the many resources you’ll find in the NASW Research Library on COVID-19 and health disparities.

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Example Resources

COVID-19 Emergence and Social and Health Determinants in Colorado: A Rapid Spatial Analysis

Authors: Ramírez, I.; Lee, J.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Vol. 17, Issue 3856, p3856.

The aim of this rapid analysis was to investigate the spatial patterns of COVID-19 emergence across counties in Colorado. In the U.S. West, Colorado has the second highest number of cases and deaths, second only to California. Colorado is also reporting, like other states, that communities of color and low-income persons are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Preliminary results demonstrate that COVID-19 incidence intensified in mountain communities west of Denver and along the Urban Front Range and evolved into new centers of risk in eastern Colorado. Furthermore, a spatial overlap of high rates of chronic diseases with high rates of COVID-19 may suggest a broader syndemic health burden, where comorbidities intersect with inequality of social determinants of health. 


Disproportionate Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Immigrant Communities in the United States

Authors: Clark, E.; Fredricks, K.; Woc-Colburn, L.; Bottazzi, M.; Weatherhead, J.

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. July 2020, Vol. 14, Issue 7, p1-9.

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) began to trickle through global communities, resulting in a pandemic of proportions not seen since 1918. In the US, while the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, initially affected international travelers and their close contacts, it is now ravaging many disadvantaged communities. As in past pandemics, social and economic determinants will strongly influence susceptibility to and health outcomes of COVID-19; thus, it is predictable that low-income and vulnerable US populations will be disproportionately affected.


Reaching the Hispanic Community About COVID-19 Through Existing Chronic Disease Prevention Programs

Authors: Calo, W.; Murray, A.; Francis, E.; Bermudez, M.; Kraschnewski, J.

Preventing Chronic Disease. June 2020, Vol. 17, p1-7.

Publicly available data on racial and ethnic disparities related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are now surfacing, and these data suggest that the novel virus has disproportionately sickened Hispanic communities in the United States. Researchers discuss why Hispanic communities are highly vulnerable to COVID-19 and how adaptations were made to existing infrastructure for Penn State Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) and Better Together REACH (a community-academic coalition using grant funds from Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) to address these needs. We also describe programming to support COVID-19 efforts for Hispanic communities by using chronic disease prevention programs and opportunities for replication across the country.

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