The association between social determinants of health and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a secondary analysis among four racial/ethnic groups.

BACKGROUND: Racial disparities in psychological distress associated with COVID-19 remain unclear in the U.S. This study aims to investigate the associations between social determinants of health and COVID-19-related psychological distress across different racial/ethnic groups in the US (i.e., non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic, non-Hispanic Asians, and non-Hispanic African Americans). METHODS: This study used cross-sectional data from the 2020 California Health Interview Survey Adult Data Files (N = 21,280). Adjusting for covariates-including age, gender, COVID-19 pandemic challenges, and risk of severe illness from COVID-19-four sets of weighted binary logistic regressions were conducted. RESULTS: The rates of moderate/severe psychological distress significantly varied across four racial/ethnic groups (p < 0.001), with the highest rate found in the Hispanic group. Across the five domains of social determinants of health, we found that unemployment, food insecurity, housing instability, high educational attainment, usual source of health care, delayed medical care, and low neighborhood social cohesion and safety were associated with high levels of psychological distress in at least one racial/ethnic group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that Hispanic adults face more adverse social determinants of health and are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Public health practice and policy should highlight social determinants of heath that are associated with different racial/ethnic groups and develop tailored programs to reduce psychological distress.

Parenting, privilege, and pandemic: From surviving to thriving as a mother in the academy.

As women who have dual roles as parents and academicians, COVID-19 has presented new challenges and opportunities that have impacted our personal and professional lives. This essay provides insight into unique obstacles from the perspective of mothers, researchers, and social workers and challenges the traditional models of work/life balance as professionals in academics. This reflexive essay provides the narratives and experiences of one assistant professor and two doctoral students who are learning to navigate motherhood and professional responsibilities amidst a global pandemic. The prologue presents a perspective from a current assistant professor and her lived experiences followed by the reflections of two doctoral students on how to navigate the academy as mothers and as women. In addition to our personal stories and narratives, we hope to challenge, inspire, and reimagine how our dual roles can be viewed as an asset, rather than a weakness and encourage others in the academy to rise and support women.