Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020.
Refugee communities are vulnerable to housing insecurity, which drives numerous health disparity outcomes in a historically marginalized population. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the ongoing affordable housing crisis in the United States while continuing to highlight disparities in health...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286993 |
| _version_ | 1797788241991041024 |
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| author | Ashkan Hassani Vinton Omaleki Jeanine Erikat Elizabeth Frost Samantha Streuli Ramla Sahid Homayra Yusufi Rebecca Fielding-Miller |
| author_facet | Ashkan Hassani Vinton Omaleki Jeanine Erikat Elizabeth Frost Samantha Streuli Ramla Sahid Homayra Yusufi Rebecca Fielding-Miller |
| author_sort | Ashkan Hassani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Refugee communities are vulnerable to housing insecurity, which drives numerous health disparity outcomes in a historically marginalized population. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the ongoing affordable housing crisis in the United States while continuing to highlight disparities in health outcomes across populations. We conducted interviewer-administered surveys with refugee and asylum seekers in San Diego County at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the social effects and drivers of COVID-19 in one of the largest refugee communities in the United States. Staff from a community-based refugee advocacy and research organization administered the surveys from September-November 2020. 544 respondents participated in the survey, which captured the diversity of the San Diego refugee community including East African (38%), Middle Eastern (35%), Afghan (17%), and Southeast Asian (11%) participants. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) reported living in overcrowded conditions (> 1 individual per room) and 30% in severely crowded conditions (> 1.5 individuals per room). For each additional person per room, self-reported poor emotional health increased. Conversely, family size was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting poor emotional health. Crowded housing was significantly associated with a lower probability of accessing a COVID-19 diagnostic test, with every additional reported person per room there was approximately an 11% increase in the probability of having never accessed a COVID-19 testing. Access to affordable housing had the largest effect size and was associated with fewer people per room. Overcrowding housing is a structural burden that reduces COVID-19 risk mitigation behaviors. Improved access to affordable housing units or receiving vouchers could reduce overcrowded housing in vulnerable refugee communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:33:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3dc0614f2e64452fae6ffa4af61ab7f4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T01:33:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-3dc0614f2e64452fae6ffa4af61ab7f42023-07-04T05:32:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01186e028699310.1371/journal.pone.0286993Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020.Ashkan HassaniVinton OmalekiJeanine ErikatElizabeth FrostSamantha StreuliRamla SahidHomayra YusufiRebecca Fielding-MillerRefugee communities are vulnerable to housing insecurity, which drives numerous health disparity outcomes in a historically marginalized population. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the ongoing affordable housing crisis in the United States while continuing to highlight disparities in health outcomes across populations. We conducted interviewer-administered surveys with refugee and asylum seekers in San Diego County at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand the social effects and drivers of COVID-19 in one of the largest refugee communities in the United States. Staff from a community-based refugee advocacy and research organization administered the surveys from September-November 2020. 544 respondents participated in the survey, which captured the diversity of the San Diego refugee community including East African (38%), Middle Eastern (35%), Afghan (17%), and Southeast Asian (11%) participants. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) reported living in overcrowded conditions (> 1 individual per room) and 30% in severely crowded conditions (> 1.5 individuals per room). For each additional person per room, self-reported poor emotional health increased. Conversely, family size was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting poor emotional health. Crowded housing was significantly associated with a lower probability of accessing a COVID-19 diagnostic test, with every additional reported person per room there was approximately an 11% increase in the probability of having never accessed a COVID-19 testing. Access to affordable housing had the largest effect size and was associated with fewer people per room. Overcrowding housing is a structural burden that reduces COVID-19 risk mitigation behaviors. Improved access to affordable housing units or receiving vouchers could reduce overcrowded housing in vulnerable refugee communities.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286993 |
| spellingShingle | Ashkan Hassani Vinton Omaleki Jeanine Erikat Elizabeth Frost Samantha Streuli Ramla Sahid Homayra Yusufi Rebecca Fielding-Miller Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. PLoS ONE |
| title | Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. |
| title_full | Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. |
| title_fullStr | Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. |
| title_short | Overcrowded housing reduces COVID-19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among San Diego refugees from September to November of 2020. |
| title_sort | overcrowded housing reduces covid 19 mitigation measures and lowers emotional health among san diego refugees from september to november of 2020 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286993 |
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