Sociodemographic disparities in energy insecurity among low-income households before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sociodemographic disparities in energy insecurity among low-income households before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
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DOI：
10.1038/s41560-020-00763-9
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发表时间：
2021-01-18
期刊：
影响因子：
56.7
通讯作者：
Konisky, David M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Memmott, Trevor;Carley, Sanya;Konisky, David M.
一个家庭无法满足基本的能源需求，会对健康产生不利影响。这项研究发现，COVID-19疫情增加了能源不安全的普遍性，并可能扩大了先前存在的能源不安全可能性的种族差异。能源不安全是美国低收入人群中日益严重的公共卫生威胁。先前的研究表明，能源不安全与不利的健康影响有关，并可能导致人们采取危险的应对策略。在此，我们评估能源不安全的比率、导致能源不安全的因素，以及COVID-19大流行的最初几个月如何加剧了这一问题。我们发现，能源不安全是非常普遍的家庭或低于200%的联邦贫困线。我们进一步表明，黑人和西班牙裔家庭更有可能经历能源不安全和面临公用事业断开，因为有年幼儿童的家庭，需要电子医疗设备的个人以及那些居住在效率低下或条件差的家庭。这些情况在正常情况下存在，而COVID-19疫情似乎加剧了能源不安全的整体发生率。
The inability of a household to meet basic energy needs is associated with adverse health consequences. This study finds that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the prevalence of energy insecurity, and may have widened pre-existing racial disparities in the likelihood of being energy insecure.Energy insecurity is a growing public health threat among low-income populations in the United States. Prior research has shown that energy insecurity is associated with adverse health effects and can lead people to engage in risky coping strategies. Here we evaluate rates of energy insecurity, which factors contribute to it, and how the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem. We show that energy insecurity is highly prevalent among households at or below 200% of the federal poverty line. We further show that Black and Hispanic households are more likely to experience energy insecurity and face utility disconnection, as are households with young children, individuals that require electronic medical devices and those in dwellings with inefficient or poor conditions. These conditions exist under normal circumstances, and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have exacerbated the overall incidence of energy insecurity.