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. 2021 May 17:9:661592.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.661592. eCollection 2021.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Older Adults and Health Equity in the United States

Lourdes R Guerrero  1 , Steven P Wallace  2
Affiliations

The Impact of COVID-19 on Diverse Older Adults and Health Equity in the United States

Lourdes R Guerrero et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Older adults are most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and consequences. This study applies the World Health Organization's Health Inequity Causal Model to identify different factors that may be driving the higher observed hospitalizations and deaths among older adults of color compared to non-Latinx Whites in the United States. We used multiple data sets, including the US Census American Community Survey and PULSE COVID data, along with published reports, to understand the social context of older adults, including income distributions by race and ethnicity, household composition and potential COVID-19 exposure to older adults by working family members. Our findings point to multiple social determinants of health, beyond individual health risks, which may explain why older adults of color are the most at risk of negative COVID-19 outcomes and consequences. Current health policies do not adequately address disproportionate impact; some even worsen it. This manuscript provides new data and analysis to support the call for equity-focused solutions to this pandemic and health in general in the future, focusing on meeting the needs of our most vulnerable communities.

Keywords: African American; COVID-19; Latinx; health equity; older adult; risk factors; social determinants.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Health inequity causal model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Log of Cumulative COVID-19 deaths/100,000 population, January 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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