Urban Medicine and Health Care Disparities Scholarly Concentration works

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Browsing Urban Medicine and Health Care Disparities Scholarly Concentration works by Subject "COVID-19"

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    Analysis of COVID-19 Case Demographics and Disease Outcomes in Gary, Indiana
    (MDPI, 2023-09-07) Sabir, Maryam; Al-Tarshan, Yazan; Snapp, Cameron; Brown, Martin; Walker, Roland; Han, Amy; Kostrominova, Tatiana
    Background: The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed the prevalence of existing health disparities in Black communities in the U.S. The current study evaluates COVID-19 data collected in Gary, Indiana, from June 2020 to June 2021. We hypothesized that the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths were influenced by race and income. Methods: In collaboration with the Gary Health Department (GHD), we analyzed demographic data on COVID-19-positive cases. Results: Compared to Gary's non-Black population, age- and population-adjusted rates of hospitalizations and deaths in the Black population were 3-fold (p < 0.0001) and 2-fold (p < 0.05) higher, respectively. This is despite a higher infection rate (p < 0.0001) in the non-Black population. The median household income of a zip code was negatively correlated with COVID-19 hospitalizations (R2 = 0.6345, p = 0.03), but did not correlate with infections and deaths. Conclusions: The current study demonstrates clear health disparities of income and race in the context of COVID-19-related infections and outcomes in the city of Gary. Indiana University School of Medicine Northwest and GHD officials can collaborate to utilize these data for the reallocation of resources and health education efforts in Gary's highly populated, low-income, and predominantly Black neighborhoods. It should also prompt further investigation into national health resource allocation.
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    The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Violence: Insights from Professional Key Informants
    (University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2023-06-14) Aldallal, Mohamed; Omari, Deeb; Muvuka, Baraka; Ryan, Elizabeth R.
    Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on youth violence protective and risk factors by isolating many at risk youth. While youth violence is a growing global health problem, there are limited studies exploring youth violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lake County in Northwest Indiana presents an opportunity for youth violence research and prevention given its socio-demographic context and its limited youth violence data. This study explored the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on youth violence and its risk and protective factors from the perspectives of professional key informants in Lake County, Indiana. Methods: This study utilized a descriptive qualitative design inspired by the constructivist grounded theory. We recruited professional key informants through purposive and snowball sampling. Data collection consisted of virtual semi-structured key informant interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis consisted of inductive thematic analysis with open line-by-line coding, focused coding in Dedoose, and theme identification. Results: A total of six key informants were interviewed, representing diverse youth-serving occupations. These interviews revealed five general themes portraying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth violence: mental health impacts on youth; socialization of youth; youth as victims, perpetrators, or witnesses; shifting of learning environments; and parent-child relationships. Key informants observed an increase in less visible types of youth violence, underlying pandemic-induced or-exacerbated youth mental and behavioral health issues, strained parent-child relationships, and the educational marginalization of youth in underserved communities during online learning transitions. Conclusions: This study highlighted underserved youth’s vulnerability to the COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse impacts on youth violence experiences, risk, and protective factors. Our findings support the need to prioritize youth during and after crises, to utilize innovative strategies to better reach underserved youth, and to develop ethical and integrated youth violence data systems. Future research should explore youth’s lived experiences with violence throughout the pandemic.