U.S. regional differences in physical distancing: Evaluating racial and socioeconomic divides during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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2021-01
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Health varies by U.S. region of residence. Despite regional heterogeneity in the outbreak of COVID-19, regional differences in physical distancing behaviors over time are relatively unknown. This study examines regional variation in physical distancing trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates variation by race and socioeconomic status (SES) within regions. Data from the 2015-2019 five-year American Community Survey were matched with anonymized location pings data from over 20 million mobile devices (SafeGraph, Inc.) at the Census block group level. We visually present trends in the stay-at-home proportion by Census region, race, and SES throughout 2020 and conduct regression analyses to examine these patterns. From March to December, the stay-at-home proportion was highest in the Northeast (0.25 in March to 0.35 in December) and lowest in the South (0.24 to 0.30). Across all regions, the stay-at-home proportion was higher in block groups with a higher percentage of Blacks, as Blacks disproportionately live in urban areas where stay-at-home rates were higher (0.009 [CI: 0.008, 0.009]). In the South, West, and Midwest, higher-SES block groups stayed home at the lowest rates pre-pandemic; however, this trend reversed throughout March before converging in the months following. In the Northeast, lower-SES block groups stayed home at comparable rates to higher-SES block groups during the height of the pandemic but diverged in the months following. Differences in physical distancing behaviors exist across U.S. regions, with a pronounced Southern and rural disadvantage. Results can be used to guide reopening and COVID-19 mitigation plans.
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Zang, Emma, Jessica West, Nathan Kim and Christina Pao (2021). U.S. regional differences in physical distancing: Evaluating racial and socioeconomic divides during the COVID-19 pandemic. PloS one, 16(11). p. e0259665. 10.1371/journal.pone.0259665 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/28659.
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Jessica Sayles West
Jessica is a medical sociologist whose research examines hearing loss stigma, aging, and health disparities across the life course. Her work integrates sociological theory, population health sciences, and hearing healthcare to understand how hearing loss and hearing-related stigma shape mental health, social relationships, healthcare experiences, and quality of life among diverse populations. Jessica has documented the broader consequences of hearing loss for individuals and families, identified sociodemographic disparities in hearing health, and helped advance the measurement of hearing loss stigma. Supported by a National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) K01 Career Development Award, her current research program focuses on documenting, measuring, and reducing stigma associated with hearing loss to improve health outcomes and advance hearing health equity. Her research has been published in leading journals including, the Journals of Gerontology, Social Science & Medicine, Ear and Hearing, and other prominent outlets in medical sociology, population health, audiology, and aging research.
Jessica received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Social Anthropology (dual Sociology/Anthropology concentration) followed by an M.P.H. in Sociomedical Sciences with a certificate in Public Health Research Methods from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She subsequently received an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus in Medical Sociology and Demography at Duke University. She then completed an NIA T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Duke University Aging Center. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine, a Faculty Research Scholar in the Duke University Population Research Institute, and a Senior Fellow in the Duke University Aging Center.
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