Disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in the United States

Clark, Eva H.; Fredricks, Karla; Woc-Colburn, Laila; Bottazzi, María Elena; Weatherhead, Jill E.

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0008484

Cited by 315 publications

(328 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In addition, 1 in 5 respondents reported they would be "extremely worried" about seeking treatment or having a family member seek treatment for COVID-19 due to fears of detainment or deportation. These findings are consistent with predictions about how the COVID-19 pandemic might disproportionately impact the mental health and wellbeing of undocumented immigrants (Clark et al, 2020;Garcini et al, 2020;Page et al, 2020;Wilson & Stimpson, 2020). Even though undocumented immigrants are at greater risk of pandemic-related health issues (including not only COVID-19 infection but also mental health distress), prior evidence suggests that this population might be less likely to seek treatment due, in part, to concerns about deportation (Maldonado, Rodriguez, Torres, Flores, & Lovato, 2013;Hacker, Anies, Folb, & Zallman, 2015), which is consistent with the present findings.…”

Section: Gad-supporting

confidence: 90%

Mental health of undocumented college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ornelas

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a surge in mental health problems across the United States, and some reports suggest a more severe impact for racial and ethnic minorities. The present study was conducted to gain a preliminary understanding of the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically for dreamers, i.e., undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors. A population of about 150 dreamers currently enrolled at a public university in Delaware were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey contained questions about demographics, mental health, academics, immigration, COVID-19 infection, and unemployment, in addition to mental health screens for anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and stress (PSS-10). In total, 109 dreamers completed the survey. We observed remarkably high clinical levels of anxiety and depression: 47% of the dreamers met the clinical cutoff for anxiety, 63% met the cutoff for depression, and 67% (2 in 3) met the cutoff for anxiety and/or depression. Rates of anxiety and depression in our sample were significantly higher than those recently reported for college students overall, suggesting that dreamers may be experiencing a more severe mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that pandemic-induced concerns about finances, COVID-19 infection, immigration, and unemployment (among other factors) were associated with greater anxiety, stress, and depression among the dreamers in our sample. The present findings are consistent with recent predictions by social scientists that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a disproportionately negative impact on the mental health of undocumented immigrants.

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Section: Gad-supporting

confidence: 90%

Mental health of undocumented college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ornelas

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Many of the adult household members were reported to be working outside the home and working in situations where they had close contact with other workers. These situations, plus the sheer number of adults in the household (up to six in farmworker families and four in nonfarmworker families), allows for the spread of infection through these interconnected households [3]. Mask use was reported to be common in the workplaces, though measures of the consistency or enforcement of mask use were not obtained.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many immigrant workers settle in the US with extended family from their home communities-siblings, cousins, parents, aunts, and uncles. This can provide considerable social and material support while living in a new environment and working in low wage jobs; family and household boundaries are likely more fluid than they are for other ethnic groups [3,9]. These relationships are supported and reinforced by familismo.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 Pandemic among Latinx Farmworker and Nonfarmworker Families in North Carolina: Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors

Quandt

LaMonto

Mora

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses substantial threats to Latinx farmworkers and other immigrants in food production and processing. Classified as essential, such workers cannot shelter at home. Therefore, knowledge and preventive behaviors are important to reduce COVID-19 spread in the community. (2) Methods: Respondents for 67 families with at least one farmworker (FWF) and 38 comparable families with no farmworkers (nonFWF) in North Carolina completed a telephone survey in May 2020. The survey queried knowledge of COVID-19, perceptions of its severity, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors. Detailed data were collected to document household members’ social interaction and use of face coverings. (3) Results: Knowledge of COVID-19 and prevention methods was high in both groups, as was its perceived severity. NonFWF had higher self-efficacy for preventing infection. Both groups claimed to practice preventive behaviors, though FWF emphasized social avoidance and nonFWF emphasized personal hygiene. Detailed social interactions showed high rates of inter-personal contact at home, at work, and in the community with more mask use in nonFWF than FWF. (4) Conclusions: Despite high levels of knowledge and perceived severity for COVID-19, these immigrant families were engaged in frequent interpersonal contact that could expose community members and themselves to COVID-19.

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“…2 Factors highlighted as potential drivers of this early and sustained transmission include overcrowding and limited ability to work remotely leading to challenges in social distancing, multigenerational families, and a high-prevalence of comorbidities. [3][4][5] In the Cook County Health system, which provides care for the most vulnerable populations of the Chicago metropolitan region, also predominantly non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics, we noted an early surge in admissions of Hispanic patients. We sought to better understand the epidemiology of COVID-19 in the Hispanic community by comparing patientand census tract-level factors of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 to those of patients hospitalized due to influenza infection, another viral infection with respiratory transmission, which historically has impacted non-Hispanic blacks with rates at least as high, if not higher, than Hispanics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Epidemiology of COVID-19 vs. Influenza: Differential Failure of COVID-19 Mitigation among Hispanics

Trick

Badri

Doshi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND: During the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, predominantly African-American or Hispanic communities were disproportionately impacted. We sought to better understand the epidemiology of COVID-19 among hospitalized Hispanic patients by comparing individual and census-tract level characteristics of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to those diagnosed with influenza, another viral infection with respiratory transmission. We evaluated the temporal changes in epidemiology across race-ethnicity related to a shelter-in-place mandate. METHODS: We evaluated patients hospitalized at Cook County Health, the safety-net health system for the Chicago metropolitan area. Among self-identified hospitalized Hispanic patients, we compared those with influenza (2019-2020 influenza season) to COVID-19 infection during March 16, 2020 through May 11, 2020. We used multivariable analysis to identify differences in individual and census-tract level characteristics between the two groups. RESULTS: Relative to non-Hispanic blacks and whites, COVID-19 rapidly increased among Hispanics during promotion of social-distancing policies. Whereas non-Hispanic blacks were more likely to be hospitalized for influenza, Hispanic patients predominated among COVID-19 infections (40% relative increase compared to influenza). In the comparative analysis of influenza and COVID-19, Hispanic patients with COVID-19 were more likely to reside in census tracts with higher proportions of residents with the following characteristics: Hispanic; no high school diploma; non-US citizen; limited English speaking ability; employed in manufacturing or construction; and, overcrowding. By multivariable analysis, Hispanic patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to those with influenza were more likely to be male (adjusted OR=1.8; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9) or obese (aOR=2.5; 95% CI 1.5 to 4.2), and to reside in a census tract with ≥40% of residents without a high-school diploma (aOR=2.5; 95% CI 1.3 to 4.8). CONCLUSIONS: The rapid and disproportionate increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations among Hispanics after the shelter-in-place mandate indicates that public health strategies were inadequate in protecting this population. In particular, those residing in neighborhoods with lower levels of educational attainment.

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Disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in the United States

Cited by 315 publications

References 23 publications

Mental health of undocumented college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mental health of undocumented college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 Pandemic among Latinx Farmworker and Nonfarmworker Families in North Carolina: Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors

Epidemiology of COVID-19 vs. Influenza: Differential Failure of COVID-19 Mitigation among Hispanics

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