COVID-19's Impact on Women: A Stakeholder-Engagement Approach to Increase Public Awareness Through Virtual Town Halls

Abstract

Women face unprecedented challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Emerging evidence suggests that women are unduly burdened by inequitable access to economic, health, and social resources during the pandemic. For many women, COVID-19 has presented new urgency to challenges and illuminates unique issues long encountered. Gendered roles such as family caregiving and frontline occupations increase women's exposure to COVID-19 infections and critical outcomes. To increase dialogue around COVID-19's impact on women, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health convened a moderated virtual town hall on April 25, 2020, with 2 sexual and reproductive health experts. The town hall was the second in a series to increase public awareness of COVID-19's impact on vulnerable populations. This report highlights policy and practice implications that are particularly relevant for engaging key populations and delivering information to increase public awareness of COVID-19.

Effect of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on life expectancy across populations in the USA and other high income countries: simulations of provisional mortality data

“…Low income communities and women have also been disproportionately affected by the social, familial, and economic disruptions of the pandemic. 81 82 Reduced access to covid-19 vaccines, and vaccine hesitancy rooted in a community’s distrust of systems that have mistreated them, might exacerbate these disparities. Structural factors affect not only Black and Hispanic populations but other marginalized people and places.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) toward the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in a Saudi Population-Based Survey

“…Health sector stakeholders have taken the leading role in creating awareness regarding the disease, how it spreads, and containment measures to improve management [ 11 , 12 ]. The current containment measures are at country and global levels where the government has imposed restrictions based on the severity levels [ 13 ]. The present study aims to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) among the Saudi population towards COVID-19 prevention.…”

Factors Affecting Contraception Access and Use in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

“…Those in residential treatment programs may not receive permission to make outside appointments, may feel uncomfortable getting care outside of their opioid use disorder treatment facility, 39 or be hesitant to seek outside care because of poor treatment by other clinicians in the past 44 . Additionally, women may have difficulty attending medical visits due to lack of child care or reliable transportation, issues that have likely been compounded further by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic 45,46 . Integrating family planning and contraceptive services into opioid use disorder treatment facilities requires staff education and training regarding contraception, as well as engagement by gynecologists or other providers with expertise in sexual health, which can increase the overall cost 47 …”