The Implications of Health Disparities: A COVID-19 Risk Assessment of the Hispanic Community in El Paso

Carina Cione, Emma Vetter, Deziree Jackson, Sarah McCarthy and Ernesto Castañeda ()
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Carina Cione: Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Emma Vetter: Department of Sociology & Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Deziree Jackson: Department of Sociology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Sarah McCarthy: Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
Ernesto Castañeda: Department of Sociology, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies, Immigration Lab, Center for Health, Risk, and Society, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Latinos have suffered from disproportionately high rates of hospitalization and death related to the virus. Health disparities based on race and ethnicity are directly associated with heightened mortality and burden of illness and act as underlying causes for the staggering impacts of COVID-19 in Latin communities in the United States. This is especially true in the city of El Paso, Texas, where over 82% of the population is Hispanic. To ascertain the level of danger that COVID-19 poses in El Paso, we constructed a point-in-time risk assessment of its Latin population and assessed a Latin individual’s likelihood of hospitalization or death related to COVID-19 by comparing relevant health profiles with high-risk co-morbidities that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified in 2020. Data for this risk assessment come from 1152 surveys conducted in El Paso. The assessment included comprehensive demographic, socioeconomic, and health data to analyze disparities across Hispanic sub-populations in the city. Results revealed that around 49.3% of Hispanics in the study had been previously diagnosed with a high-risk co-morbidity and therefore have an increased likelihood of hospitalization or death related to COVID-19. Additional factors that led to increased risk included low income, homelessness, lack of U.S. citizenship, and being insured. The findings from this study additionally demonstrate that structural inequality in the U.S. must be addressed, and preventive measures must be taken at local and state levels to decrease the mortality of pandemics. Baseline population health data can help with both of these goals.

Keywords: health equity; COVID pandemic; Hispanic health; immigrant; minority health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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