Differential health outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic among minority populations: An analysis based on Chicago's neighborhoods.

Abstract

Background: The study examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on different ethnic and racial groups. It aims to investigate the existence or nonexistence of significant variations in COVID-19 health outcomes among two ethnic and racial minorities that resided in Chicago neighborhoods during the onslaught of the pandemic. Researchers have traditionally studied health disparities by comparing the health of minorities representing "underserved" populations and those with adequate healthcare. This study focuses on the heterogeneity of health outcomes between different minority populations, mainly Black and Hispanic, traditionally considered underserved populations.

Methods: This cross-sectional study uses secondary data from a public reporting site. The unit of analysis is neighborhood units based on US postal zip codes that are cross-referenced with the US Census Bureau's zip code tabulation area codes. We used Chicago neighborhood data and applied geographic analyses to describe the patterns of similarities and differences in the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic among neighborhoods with different ethnic and racial minorities residing in them. Using the one-way analysis of variance technique, we also tested research hypotheses about the COVID-19 outcome differences and/or similarities among the neighborhoods.

Results: Our findings show that although Hispanic neighborhoods disproportionately carried a higher burden of infection by the disease, the mortality due to the illness or the case fatality rate was not much higher than in the other neighborhoods. In contrast, African American neighborhoods did experience significantly higher case fatality rates-although their infection rate was not statistically significantly higher than the average infection rates of the other Chicago neighborhoods.

Conclusions: Minority status creates distinct adverse effects on different minority groups. The patterns of distinct outcomes need to be well understood through further studied and considered by policymakers when health policies are designed to address the impact of health disparities.