Citizenship Matters: Non-Citizen COVID-19 Mortality Disparities in New York and Los Angeles

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Jason A. Douglas¹  Emmanuel B. John²  Andrew M. Subica³  Angel Miles Nash⁴  Lawrence M. Brown⁵  Georgiana Bostean⁶ 

[1] Department of Health Sciences, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA;Department of Physical Therapy, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618, USA;Department of Social Medicine, Population & Public Health, Riverside School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA;Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA;School of Pharmacy, Chapman University, Irvine, CA 92618, USA;Sociology and Environmental Science & Policy Programs, Schmid & Wilkinson Colleges, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA;

关键词: COVID-19;    non-citizens;    Black and Latinx;    health disparities;    systemic racism;    social determinants of health;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph19095066

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

U.S. non-citizen residents are burdened by inequitable access to socioeconomic resources, potentially placing them at heightened risk of COVID-19-related disparities. However, COVID-19 impacts on non-citizens are not well understood. Accordingly, the current study investigated COVID-19 mortality disparities within New York (NYC) and Los Angeles (LAC) to test our hypothesis that areas with large proportions of non-citizens will have disproportionately high COVID-19 mortality rates. We examined ecological associations between March 2020–January 2021 COVID-19 mortality rates (per 100,000 residents) and percent non-citizens (using ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) for NYC and City/Community units of analysis for LAC) while controlling for sociodemographic factors. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between the percentage of non-citizen residents and COVID-19 mortality rates in NYC (95% CI 0.309, 5.181) and LAC (95% CI 0.498, 8.720). Despite NYC and LAC policies intended to provide sanctuary and improve healthcare access for non-citizen residents, communities with larger proportions of non-citizens appear to endure higher COVID-19 mortality rates. The challenges that non-citizens endure—e.g., inequitable access to public benefits—may discourage help-seeking behaviors. Thus, improved health surveillance, public health messaging, and sanctuary policies will be essential for reducing COVID-19 mortality disparities in communities with large shares of non-citizens.

【 授权许可】

Unknown