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. 2022 Feb;9(1):165-175.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-020-00940-2. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Structural Inequalities Established the Architecture for COVID-19 Pandemic Among Native Americans in Arizona: a Geographically Weighted Regression Perspective

Aggie J Yellow Horse  1 , Tse-Chuan Yang  2 , Kimberly R Huyser  3
Affiliations

Structural Inequalities Established the Architecture for COVID-19 Pandemic Among Native Americans in Arizona: a Geographically Weighted Regression Perspective

Aggie J Yellow Horse et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Feb.

Abstract

Native Americans are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The present study explores whether areas with high percentages of Native American residents are experiencing the equal risks of contracting COVID-19 by examining how the relationships between structural inequalities and confirmed COVID-19 cases spatially vary across Arizona using a geographically weighted regression (GWR). GWR helps with the identification of areas with high confirmed COVID-19 cases in Arizona and with understanding of which predictors of social inequalities are associated with confirmed COVID-19 cases at specific locations. We find that structural inequality indicators and presence of Native Americans are significantly associated with higher confirmed COVID-19 cases; and the relationships between structural inequalities and confirmed COVID-19 cases are significantly stronger in areas with high concentration of Native Americans, particular on Tribal lands. The findings highlight the negative effects that lack of infrastructure (i.e., housing with plumbing, transportation, and accessible health communication) may have on individual and population health, and, in this case, associated with the increase of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Keywords: American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples; Arizona; COVID-19; Concentrated disadvantage; Indigenous data sovereignty; Native American; Structural inequality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Three maps of Arizona. a Tribal homelands in Arizona. b Dot densities of four racialized/minoritized groups by zip codes. c GWR results—impact of concentrated disadvantage on confirmed COVID-19 cases. Source: Fig. 1a, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona [24]. In c, we caution the interpretation for the Navajo Nation due to lack of information on Navajo Nation in our analyses
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Growth of the confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Navajo Nation. Source: Navajo Division of Health [26]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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