Exacerbating Inequalities: Social Networks, Racial/Ethnic Disparities, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
Exacerbating Inequalities: Social Networks, Racial/Ethnic Disparities, and the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
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DOI：
10.1093/geronb/gbaa117
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发表时间：
2021-03-01
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
Thomas, Patricia A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gauthier, Gertrude R.;Smith, Jeffrey A.;Thomas, Patricia A.
目标：老年人社交网络的中断和收缩是COVID-19大流行的较少讨论的后果之一。我们的目标是提供一个以证据为基础的评论种族/民族差异的社会网络资源，并提请注意灾害差异影响社交网络的方式，与有意义的洞察力正在进行的pandemic.Methods：我们利用以前的研究社交网络和过去的自然灾害，以确定网络不平等的主要领域。注意如何在当前的危机中，大流行前的种族/民族网络的差异加剧，影响身体和心理健康outcome.Results：证据从文献中显示出强大的社交网络和身体和心理健康的结果之间的关联。在危机期间，老年人进入社交网络的机会受到干扰，特别是边缘化群体。我们记录了大流行前社交网络资源的差异，并为研究COVID-19对破坏老年人社交网络的影响提供了见解。讨论：重要的是，在大流行病之前和之后，社交网络中的种族/族裔差异加剧了现有的不平等，并表明有必要更好地了解社会网络对边缘化老年人的不平等，特别是在新冠肺炎健康危机的背景下。
Objectives: The disruption and contraction of older adults' social networks are among the less discussed consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to provide an evidence-based commentary on racial/ethnic disparities in social network resources and draw attention to the ways in which disasters differentially affect social networks, with meaningful insight for the ongoing pandemic.Methods: We draw upon prior research on social networks and past natural disasters to identify major areas of network inequality. Attention is given to how pre-pandemic racial/ethnic network disparities are exacerbated during the current crisis, with implications for physical and mental health outcomes.Results: Evidence from the literature shows a robust association between strong social networks and physical and mental health outcomes. During times of crisis, access to social networks for older adults is disrupted, particularly for marginalized groups. We document pre-pandemic disparities in social networks resources and offer insight for examining the impact of COVID-19 on disrupting social networks among older adults.Discussion: Importantly, racial/ethnic disparities in social networks both prior to and as a result of the pandemic intensify existing inequalities and demonstrate the necessity of better understanding social network inequalities for marginalized older adults, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis.