Cambridge, Mass.-National Public Radio (NPR), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recently released findings from a survey conducted this fall analyzing effects of COVID-19 and it's variants on social groups. The study examined the most serious problems facing households across America in regards to COVID–19 and finances, healthcare, racial/ethnic discrimination, education, caregiving, work, and well-being.
Among the findings:
• More than half of Native American (74%) and white (52%) households report that family members have experienced serious problems with depression, anxiety, stress, or sleeping in the past few months, compared to 47% of Black households, 45% of Latino households, and 41% of Asian households also report this.
• When it comes to internet connectivity, despite significant efforts since the start of the COVID–19 outbreak to expand Americans' internet access, 42% of Native American households still report either having serious problems with their internet connection to do schoolwork or their jobs, or that they do not have a high-speed internet connection at home, compared to 32% of Latino households, 21% of Black households, 19% of white households, and 18% of Asian households.
• Half or more Latino (57%), Black (56%), and Native American (50%) households in the U.S. report facing serious financial problems in the past few months, as do 32% of Asian households and 29% of white households.
• These serious financial problems are cited despite 69% of Latino households, 66% of Asian households, 66% of white households, 64% of Native American households, and 62% of Black households reporting that in the past few months, they have received financial assistance from the government.
• More than one-quarter of all Black (31%), Latino (27%), and Native American (26%) households in the U.S. report losing all of their savings during the COVID-19 outbreak and not currently having any savings to fall back on. 16% of Asian and 15% of white households also report this).
• As reported hate crimes in the U.S. have increased, one in four Asian households in the U.S. (25%) report fearing someone might threaten or physically attack them because of their race/ethnicity in the past few months, while 22% of Native American households, 21% of Black households, 8% of Latino households, and 7% of white households also report this.
• In healthcare, 19% of white households, 17% of Latino households, 16% of Native American households, 15% of Black households, and 12% of Asian households report someone in their household has been unable to get medical care for a serious problem in the past few months, with most of those reporting negative health consequences as a result.
• Half or more Native American (53%) and Asian (50%) households report using telehealth in the past few months, while 44% of Latino households, 41% of white households, and 37% of Black households also report this.
• Among employed adults, 27% of White adults and 25% of Black adults report having a worse job situation now than before the COVID-19 outbreak began, while 18% of Asian adults, 16% of Latino adults, and 8% of Native American adults also report this. Conversely, 28% of Black adults, 24% of Native American adults, 21% of Latino adults, 20% of Asian adults, and 20% of white adults who are working report having a better job situation now compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak.
For the full report, visit https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2021/10/EthnicityRWJFNPRHORP.pdf
