Perceived impacts of COVID-19 on wellbeing among US working-age adults with ADL difficulty.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted people with disabilities. Working-age adults with ADL difficulty may face unique challenges and heightened health risks because of the pandemic. It is critical to better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on social, financial, physical, and mental wellbeing among people with disabilities to inform more inclusive pandemic response policies. OBJECTIVE: This study compares perceived COVID-19 physical and mental health, social, and financial impacts for US working-age adults with and without ADL difficulty. METHODS: We analyzed data from a national survey of US working-age adults (aged 18-64) conducted in February and March 2021 (N = 3697). We used logistic regression to compare perceived COVID-19-related impacts on physical and mental health, healthcare access, social relationships, and financial wellbeing among those with and without ADL difficulty. RESULTS: Adults with ADL difficulty were more likely to report negative COVID-19 impacts for many but not all outcomes. Net of covariates, adults with ADL difficulty had significantly greater odds of reporting COVID-19 infection (OR = 2.1) and hospitalization (OR = 6.7), negative physical health impacts (OR = 2.0), and negative impacts on family relationships (OR = 1.6). However, they had significantly lower odds of losing a friend or family member to COVID-19 (OR = 0.7). There were no significant differences in perceived impacts on mental health, ability to see a doctor, relationships with friends, or financial wellbeing. CONCLUSIONS: Working-age adults with ADL difficulty experienced disproportionate health and social harm due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To address these disparities, public health response efforts and social policies supporting pandemic recovery must include disability perspectives.

The Devastating Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Older Black and Latinx Adults: Implications for Health and Well-Being.

OBJECTIVES: While disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and mortality have been documented for older Black and Latinx populations, pandemic-related economic impacts have been less studied for these groups. Minoritized older adults may be particularly vulnerable to financial hardships given their precarious socioeconomic positions. Thus, we aim to highlight the devastating economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic recession on older Black and Latinx adults, with a particular focus on the foreign-born population. METHODS: This study used data from the 2020 COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study. The sample included adults older than 50 years of age who were U.S.-born non-Latinx White and Black, U.S.-born Latinx, and foreign-born Latinx (n = 2,803). We estimated age-standardized prevalence and means of variables indicating financial impact and economic hardship during the pandemic. We further examined differences in these measures across racial/ethnic and nativity groups. RESULTS: Our findings document stark racial/ethnic inequalities in the pandemic's economic impact on older adults. Results show the pandemic has negatively affected older Black and Latinx adults across a host of economic factors (e.g., paying bills, affording health-related needs, or purchasing food), with foreign-born Latinx experiencing greater economic hardships relative to other groups. DISCUSSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, older Black and Latinx adults are experiencing disparate economic effects, including lacking money to cover basic needs, compared to older White adults. The implications of the economic shocks of the pandemic for the health and well-being of older Black and Latinx adults warrant policy-oriented action toward promoting equity.