Magnifying the importance of collecting race, ethnicity, industry, and occupation data during the COVID-19 pandemic

Epidemiology and Health

卷:43

Sai Krishna Gudi¹  Komal Krishna Tiwari²  Sophia M. George³ 

[1] College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada;

[2] Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada;

[3] Department of Pharmacy Practice, NGSM Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, NITTE University (Deemed), Mangalore, India;

关键词: race;    ethnicity;    industry;    occupation;    covid-19;   

DOI  :  10.4178/epih.e2021095

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The contagiousness of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) led to the imposition of historical lockdowns in various countries. No scientific mind could have made accurate projections of the tremendous impact that COVID-19 would have on nations, communities, and the global-wide economy. Meanwhile, millions of workers have lost their jobs, while healthcare workers are overwhelmed and are reaching a state of mental and physical exhaustion. With the uncontrollable spread, researchers have been working to identify factors associated with COVID-19. In this regard, race, ethnicity, industry, and occupation have been found to be predominant factors of interest. However, unfortunately, the unavailability of such information has been a difficult reality. Since race, ethnicity, and employment are essential social determinants of health and could serve as potential risk-factors for COVID-19, collecting such information may offer important context for prioritising vulnerable groups. Thus, this perspective aims to highlight the importance and need for collecting race, ethnicity, and occupation-related data to track and treat the racial/ethnic groups that have been most strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Collecting such data will provide valuable insights and help public health officials recognise workplace-related outbreaks and evaluate the odds of various ethnic groups and professions contracting COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

Unknown