How Built and Social Environments Affect COVID-19 Disaster Impacts in the Gulf of Mexico

灾难来袭时，美国各地因地理和种族/民族而在获取资源和机会方面存在的明显差异往往会被放大。澄清灾害对谁以及为什么造成最大痛苦，对于减轻风险、减轻美国社会、经济和卫生保健系统的负担以及解决不平等问题至关重要。该项目研究了建筑和社会环境的特征与以下因素之间的关系：1)大流行之前和期间行为健康和财务状况的变化，以及2)墨西哥湾沿海县居民与covid -19相关的风险应对。我们将从所有五个海湾国家的2520个家庭收集新的调查数据，询问身心健康、财务状况、风险认知、COVID-19的经历和损失，以及社交网络和其他资源。新数据将与2016年以来在同一组应答者中收集的现有（大流行前）数据进行比较。我们将把调查数据与建筑环境特征评估相结合，并研究建筑和社会环境特征在多大程度上预测2019冠状病毒病风险应对。该奖项将促进对灾害影响的时空理解。目前的重点是COVID-19和影响墨西哥湾沿岸社区的相关应对政策，并将推进风险认知科学以及社区脆弱性和复原力模型。此外，该项目将通过产生直接支持公共卫生和风险沟通工作的见解，促进国家健康、繁荣和福利。调查结果将有助于政策制定者在COVID-19大流行等复杂危机中向最需要支持的个人、家庭和社区提供援助。该团队将与泽维尔大学（Xavier University）的政治学学生和教师合作，建立一支更加多元化的劳动力队伍。泽维尔大学是位于洛杉矶新奥尔良的一所历史悠久的黑人大学。该项目研究了建筑和社会环境的特征与以下因素之间的关系：1)大流行之前和期间行为健康和财务状况的变化，以及2)墨西哥湾沿海县居民与covid -19相关的风险应对。这项工作大大增加了对所有五个海湾国家的居民进行的现有纵向概率小组研究，该研究由2520个家庭组成，自2016年以来收集了有关身心健康、财务状况、风险认知、灾难经历、社会网络和广泛的社会人口数据的数据。新数据将通过第三波数据收集，对建筑环境特征、社会资源、COVID-19疾病经历和损失以及对个人功能的影响进行综合评估。这些新的地理编码调查数据将与人口普查区和县级关于被调查者的建筑和社会环境条件的数据（例如，可步行性、社会脆弱性）相结合。该项目测试了以下假设：1)建筑环境特征适度，1)社会资源和COVID-19经历和损失解释，3)COVID-19前因素预测行为健康和财务状况的变化模式。我们还将测试建筑和社会环境的特征在多大程度上预测COVID-19风险应对。我们还将展示社会科学基础设施用于多层次灾害研究的可行性，并培养跨学科理论和方法的多样化学生。该奖项推进了对灾害影响机制的理论理解，重点是COVID-19和影响墨西哥湾沿岸社区的相关应对政策。此外，这项研究将产生知识，阐明在其他灾害背景下脆弱性和复原力的途径。这些数据将允许在多个层面上对不同建筑和社会环境因素之间的相互依赖性进行实证检验。该项目的研究结果将有助于政策制定者在2019冠状病毒病大流行等复杂危机中向最需要支持的个人和社区提供援助。该项目还将展示大规模、前瞻性灾害研究基础设施的潜在方法。我们将利用多种机会，与泽维尔大学（Xavier University）的政治学学生和教师合作，吸引并建立一支更多元化的劳动力队伍。泽维尔大学是位于洛杉矶新奥尔良的一所历史悠久的黑人大学。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Stark differences in access to resources and opportunity across the United States by both geography and race/ethnicity are often magnified when disaster strike. Clarifying for whom and why disasters cause most distress is important for mitigating risk, reducing burden on social, economic, and health-care systems in the United States, and for addressing disparities. This project examines how characteristics of built and social environments are associated with 1) changes in behavioral health and financial wellbeing from before to during the pandemic, and 2) COVID-19-related risk responses for residents in coastal counties in the Gulf of Mexico. We will collect new survey data from 2,520 households across all five Gulf states, asking about physical and mental health, financial wellbeing, risk perceptions, COVID-19 experiences and losses, and social networks and other resources. The new data will be compared with existing (pre-pandemic) data collected since 2016 with the same set of respondents. We will integrate the survey data with assessments of characteristics of the built environment and examine the extent to which characteristics of built and social environments predict COVID-19 risk responses. This award will advance understanding of disaster impacts across time and place. The current focus is on COVID-19 and associated response policies impacting Gulf Coast communities and will advance science of risk perception and models of community vulnerability and resilience. Additionally, the project will advance national health, prosperity, and welfare by generating insights that directly support public-health and risk-communication efforts. Findings will help policymakers target assistance toward individuals, households, and neighborhoods most in need of support during complex crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The team will engage and build a more diverse workforce, partnering with political science students and faculty at Xavier University, an historically black university in New Orleans LA.This project examines how characteristics of built and social environments are associated with 1) changes in behavioral health and financial wellbeing from before to during the pandemic, and 2) COVID-19-related risk responses for residents in coastal counties in the Gulf of Mexico. This work adds significantly to an existing longitudinal, probabilistic panel study of residents across all five Gulf states comprised of 2,520 households for which data have been collected since 2016 on physical and mental health, financial wellbeing, risk perceptions, disaster experiences, social networks, and extensive sociodemographic data. The new data will build an integrated assessment of characteristics of the built environment, social resources, COVID-19 illness experiences and losses, and impacts on individual functioning with a third wave of data collection. These new, geocoded survey data will be integrated with census-tract and county-level data about the conditions of respondents’ built and social environments (e.g., walkability, social vulnerability). The project tests hypotheses that: 1) characteristics of the built environment moderate, 1) social resources and COVID-19 experiences and losses explain, and 3) pre-COVID-19 factors predict, patterns of change in behavioral health and financial wellbeing. We will also test the extent to which characteristics of built and social environments predict COVID-19 risk responses. We will also demonstrate the feasibility of social science infrastructure for multi-level, disaster research and train diverse students in transdisciplinary theories and methods. This award advances theoretical understanding of the mechanisms of disaster impacts across time and place with a focus on COVID-19 and associated response policies impacting Gulf Coast communities. Additionally, this research will generate knowledge that elucidates pathways to vulnerability and resilience in other disaster contexts. The data will permit empirical tests of interdependencies between different built and social environment factors at multiple levels. The project’s findings will help policymakers to target assistance toward individuals and neighborhoods most in need of support during complex crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will also demonstrate potential methods for a large-scale, prospective disaster research infrastructure. We will leverage multiple opportunities to engage and build a more diverse workforce, partnering with political science students and faculty at Xavier University, an historically black university in New Orleans LA.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.