A Community Case Study on Geographic, Environmental, and Social Health Disparities  in COVID-19 Disease: Yakima, Washington

Firebaugh, Casey Mace; Beeson, Tishra; Wojtyna, Amie; Bravo, Lilian; Everson, Teresa; Johnson, Jaclyn; Saldaña, Alberto

doi:10.4236/ojpm.2020.1011021

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Since the early days of the pandemic, multiple innovations were made to improve the user experience through sampling (e.g., less invasive anterior nasal swabs), collection (e.g., self-collection), and turnaround time for results (e.g., from 24–48 h to 15 min). Despite this, many individuals remained hesitant to test for COVID-19 due to a lack of trust in the government and healthcare systems, exacerbated by politicization of the pandemic and misinformation ( 13 , 14 ). Given the rapid innovation and development of new tests and adjustments to a “new normal” where individuals co-exist with COVID-19, it is important to understand factors that impact acceptance of COVID-19 testing among racial and ethnic minorities living and working in rural agricultural communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing among Native Americans and Latinos in two rural agricultural communities: a qualitative study

Van Rensburg,

Adams,

Perez

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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ObjectiveTo examine factors influencing decisions to test for COVID-19 among Native Americans on the Flathead Reservation in Montana and the Latino community in the Yakima Valley of Washington state.MethodsWe conducted 30 key informant interviews with community leaders and six focus groups with community members to examine factors impacting decisions to test for COVID-19 during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic from May 2021 to June 2021.ResultsThree major themes that impacted testing for COVID-19 were identified: (1) Social factors, including the influence of families and friends and employment practices; (2) health factors, including testing procedures, home-based testing, and health communication; and (3) contextual factors, including distrust for government and medical communities and the impact on cultural practices and celebrations.ConclusionsSocial, health, and contextual factors influence the decision to test for COVID-19. Understanding the community's perception is critical for successful implementation of preventive strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing among Native Americans and Latinos in two rural agricultural communities: a qualitative study

Van Rensburg,

Adams,

Perez

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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“…The Yakima County region has experienced notable deficits in air quality over the past decade, in particular in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (American Lung Association, 2019;Firebaugh et al, 2020;Washington Smoke Information, 2020). PM2.5 is defined as suspended particulate matter that is smaller in aerodynamic diameter than 2.5 µm; it is mainly made up of products from incomplete combustion of fuels, and some agricultural and industrial activities (World Health Organization, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Distress Associated with Air Quality Vulnerability During COVID-19

Firebaugh

Beeson

Morgan³

et al. 2022

EUROPEAN J ENV PUBLI

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Yakima County, Washington is an area with prolonged exposure to poor air quality (PM 2.5) and has been one of the hardest hit counties in cases per capita of COVID-19 in the Western US. The physical health impacts of poor air quality exposure and COVID-19 have been well documented. However, the mental health impacts of these concurrent exposures are unknown. A pilot study (n=232) surveyed households using random-digit-dialing (RDD) in Yakima, County in Dec 2020-Jan 2021 to understand the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities. Air quality behaviors and contexts including home filtration systems and use of community shelters during poor air quality events were measured. Mental distress was measured by the John Hopkins's Mental Distress COVID-19 Community Response Survey. Descriptive data analysis along with Spearman's rank correlation analysis were performed. Nearly half of the sample (45.3%) did not have access to air quality mitigation measures in their homes. The majority of the sample (54.3%) reported wanting to access clean air shelters during major air quality events such as the smoke and wildfire season of 2020. Participants who were unable to mitigate poor air quality in their households as well as those who were unable to access community clean air shelters were observed to have higher levels of mental distress (p<.05). This study adds to the body of evidence that environmental exposures play a significant role in mental health and that compounding impacts of climate change should be studied more in depth. Household interventions should be explored as COVID-19 has brought community protection measures to a halt, while climate change induced natural disasters will only increase in the future.

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“…Yakima County, Washington is considered a socially vulnerable region, as the total population is comprised of several socially vulnerable sub‐groups, such as migrant farm workers and a large non‐English speaking population (Firebaugh et al, 2020 ). In areas that are designated as high‐risk, it is especially important to understand how individuals may fare in the face of new or evolving public health threats.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining self‐efficacy and COVID‐19 disease prevention behaviors among socially vulnerable populations

Firebaugh

Wojtyna

Rich

et al. 2022

Journal Community Psychology

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Social vulnerabilities are associated with higher COVID‐19 disease morbidity and mortality. Primary forms of COVID‐19 disease prevention aside from vaccination, are health behaviors including masking, hand washing, social distancing, and staying home when one is sick. Understanding the self‐efficacy of these behaviors in vulnerable populations can inform health interventions to improve COVID‐19 disease outcomes. A repeated cross‐sectional study with three waves (Wave 1 = pilot, Wave 2, n = 1258, Wave 3, n = 477) was conducted using an online survey. This analysis only included Wave 2 and Wave 3. The study targeted Yakima County, WA, USA, an area with pronounced social, environmental, and health disparities. Measures included demographic, household, and self‐efficacy constructs. Binary logistic regression was used to determine which demographic and household factors were related to constructs of self‐efficacy. An independent t ‐test was performed to determine if there were significant differences between population levels of self‐efficacy over time (Wave 2 vs. Wave 3). Household size, identifying as Hispanic/Latino, and measures of socioeconomic status were significantly related to various self‐efficacy beliefs about COVID‐19 disease prevention behaviors and the ability to protect oneself from COVID‐19 disease in general. Self‐efficacy increased for each measure between Wave 2 and Wave 3 ( p < 0.001). Socially vulnerable groups continue to experience disparate health outcomes in the face of COVID‐19 disease. Future studies should examine ways to increase self‐efficacy among populations that are experiencing lower levels as self‐efficacy is a significant factor related to health outcomes.

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A Community Case Study on Geographic, Environmental, and Social Health Disparities in COVID-19 Disease: Yakima, Washington

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing among Native Americans and Latinos in two rural agricultural communities: a qualitative study

Factors influencing COVID-19 testing among Native Americans and Latinos in two rural agricultural communities: a qualitative study

Mental Distress Associated with Air Quality Vulnerability During COVID-19

Examining self‐efficacy and COVID‐19 disease prevention behaviors among socially vulnerable populations

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