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Vulnerability indicators and at-risk smaller populations in California and Los Angeles: American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and select Asian ethnic groups
Vulnerability indicators and at-risk smaller populations in California and Los Angeles: American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and select Asian ethnic groups
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Ong, Jonathan D., author
Ong, Paul M., author - Contributor(s):
- UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, issuing body.
UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, issuing body. - Publication:
- Los Angeles, CA : UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, February 8, 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Asian
COVID-19 -- ethnology
Ethnic and Racial Minorities
Health Status Indicators
Indians, North American
Minority Groups
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Vulnerable Populations
California
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- This brief summarizes an assessment of the number of American Indians, Pacific Islanders and select Asian American ethnic subgroups that are included in neighborhoods designated as highly vulnerable along multiple dimensions by four indicators. The analysis examines the distribution by census tracts for California and Los Angeles County. These indices are potential analytical tools that policy makers could use to prioritize the most-at-risk places for interventions, including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Although other dimensions of vulnerability should be primary in distributing vaccines (e.g., working on the front line, caring for infected patients, other essential workers), place-based information could play a supporting role. Data can identify neighborhoods at high risk of transmission due to population density and overcrowded housing, with large numbers of people experiencing higher severity and mortality if infected, or with numerous communication barriers. Identifying such places, however, is technically challenging. A previous brief examined the performance of four indicators with respect to inclusion of people of color and minority neighborhoods. As expected African Americans and Hispanics make up a large share of the residents in vulnerable neighborhoods, while Asian Americans comprise a proportionately smaller share. Other findings, however, point to potential problems and limitations. The authors found considerable differences (non-agreement or low concordance) among the tracts classified as being highly vulnerable; therefore, the choice of indicator inherently translates into significant discrepancies in the places prioritized as eligible or ineligible for interventions. They also found substantial variations among the indicators in racial compositions and number of minority neighborhoods included. While insightful, that previous brief has limitations. That analysis does not include smaller racial groups, and the generalized results obscure a diversity of possible outcomes by ethnic subgroups. This is unfortunate because many of smaller populations have suffered disproportionately from the pandemic. Despite a paucity of disaggregated data and a lack of consistency in information across geographies on impact of COVID-19, the available information shows or suggests that American Indians, Pacific Islanders, Cambodians, Filipinos and Koreans have higher than average rates of infections or deaths, or both. These groups are also disadvantaged in other ways, as illustrated in Figure 1. In California, poverty rates for American Indians and Pacific Islanders are higher than for non-Hispanic Whites (18%, 12% and 10%, respectively). Among the Asian American groups in the state, Cambodians and Koreans also have higher rates of poverty (14% and 14%, respectively). Moreover, Pacific Islanders and the selected Asian American ethnic groups in California are two to over three times as likely to work in jobs with high risk of pandemic exposure (the nursing occupations, hospitals or nursing homes) (9% and 17% respectively, versus 5% for non-Hispanic Whites). Filipinos, in particular, are more likely to face this job-based risk (21%). Nationally, Filipino nurses are ten times more likely to die from COVID-19 than other nurses. Employment in these sectors elevates the risk of COVID-19. Because of likely transmission paths, their families and neighbors are also at elevated risk. Because of these race and ethnic specific risks, it is useful to examine how vulnerability indicators perform in including these small populations in designated high-risk places.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (13 pages, 2 unnumbered page))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918351179706676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918351179706676