Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County
COVID-19 has disparately impacted low-income persons and racial and ethnic minorities–primarily Black and Hispanic populations. Our objective is to quantify disparities in access to COVID-19 testing and identify barriers to testing during the winter 2020–2021 surge in COVID-19 infections in Los Ange...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335523004588 |
| _version_ | 1797382911123521536 |
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| author | Zain Khalifeh Sonali Saluja Chun Nok Lam Cameron Kaplan |
| author_facet | Zain Khalifeh Sonali Saluja Chun Nok Lam Cameron Kaplan |
| author_sort | Zain Khalifeh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | COVID-19 has disparately impacted low-income persons and racial and ethnic minorities–primarily Black and Hispanic populations. Our objective is to quantify disparities in access to COVID-19 testing and identify barriers to testing during the winter 2020–2021 surge in COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County. An online survey was administered between December 2020 and January 2021 through which respondents were asked about their use of COVID testing and the barriers to testing they experienced. Our sample of 1,984 was reweighted to match the demographics of Los Angeles County. Despite similar testing rates to White residents, Hispanic residents were more likely to report testing positive. Persons with an annual income of $20,000 or less were less likely to receive a test than those with an income of $100,000 or more. Barriers to testing were more prevalent among racial/ethnic minorities and low-income persons. White respondents and high-income persons were more likely to report the ability to take time off work to await test results. Rates of testing were not commensurate with the rates of infection across racial/ethnic groups, which may be explained by higher rates of reported barriers to testing among Black and Hispanic residents. These findings may inform policies that address structural barriers to testing that disproportionately impact racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:12:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8596242244ae42c2b4c25b35644648a1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2211-3355 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:12:30Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Preventive Medicine Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-8596242244ae42c2b4c25b35644648a12023-12-22T05:32:48ZengElsevierPreventive Medicine Reports2211-33552024-01-0137102567Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles CountyZain Khalifeh0Sonali Saluja1Chun Nok Lam2Cameron Kaplan3University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Corresponding author at: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, 1043 9th Street Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles, CA 90266, USA.Gehr Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USAGehr Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USACOVID-19 has disparately impacted low-income persons and racial and ethnic minorities–primarily Black and Hispanic populations. Our objective is to quantify disparities in access to COVID-19 testing and identify barriers to testing during the winter 2020–2021 surge in COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County. An online survey was administered between December 2020 and January 2021 through which respondents were asked about their use of COVID testing and the barriers to testing they experienced. Our sample of 1,984 was reweighted to match the demographics of Los Angeles County. Despite similar testing rates to White residents, Hispanic residents were more likely to report testing positive. Persons with an annual income of $20,000 or less were less likely to receive a test than those with an income of $100,000 or more. Barriers to testing were more prevalent among racial/ethnic minorities and low-income persons. White respondents and high-income persons were more likely to report the ability to take time off work to await test results. Rates of testing were not commensurate with the rates of infection across racial/ethnic groups, which may be explained by higher rates of reported barriers to testing among Black and Hispanic residents. These findings may inform policies that address structural barriers to testing that disproportionately impact racial/ethnic minorities and low-income populations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335523004588COVID-19TestingAccessHealth disparityRacial and ethnic disparity |
| spellingShingle | Zain Khalifeh Sonali Saluja Chun Nok Lam Cameron Kaplan Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County Preventive Medicine Reports COVID-19 Testing Access Health disparity Racial and ethnic disparity |
| title | Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County |
| title_full | Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County |
| title_fullStr | Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County |
| title_short | Disparities in access to COVID-19 testing in Los Angeles County |
| title_sort | disparities in access to covid 19 testing in los angeles county |
| topic | COVID-19 Testing Access Health disparity Racial and ethnic disparity |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335523004588 |
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