Studying the social determinants of COVID‐19 in a data vacuum
Open Access
- 4 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie
- Vol. 58 (2), 146-164
- https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12336
Abstract
Race‐based and other demographic information on COVID‐19 patients is not being collected consistently across provinces in Canada. Therefore, whether the burden of COVID‐19 is falling disproportionately on the shoulders of particular demographic groups is relatively unknown. In this article, we first provide an overview of the available geographic and demographic data related to COVID‐19. We then make creative use of these existing data to fill the vacuum and identify key demographic risk factors for COVID‐19 across Canada's health regions. Drawing on COVID‐19 counts and tabular census data, we examine the association between communities’ demographic composition and the number of COVID‐19 infections. COVID‐19 infections are higher in communities with larger shares of Black and low‐income residents. Our approach offers a way for researchers and policymakers to use existing data to identify communities nationwide that are vulnerable to the pandemic in the absence of more detailed demographic and more granular geographic data.Keywords
This publication has 26 references indexed in Scilit:
- Black–White Health Inequalities in CanadaJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2015
- Examining the relationship between social support availability, urban center size, and self-perceived mental health of recent immigrants to Canada: A mixed-methods analysisSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2015
- Health Status among Black Canadians: Results from a National SurveyCanadian Ethnic Studies, 2013
- Defining Narratives of Identity in Canadian Political Science: Accounting for the Absence of RaceCanadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 2011
- Research Note: Revisiting the Collection of “Justice Statistics by Race” in CanadaCanadian Journal of Law and Society / Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 2010
- Black Canadians and black Americans: racial income inequality in comparative perspectiveEthnic and Racial Studies, 2009
- Racialized identity and health in Canada: Results from a nationally representative surveySocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2009
- Is Race Political?Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 2008
- Access to Care, Health Status, and Health Disparities in the United States and Canada: Results of a Cross-National Population-Based SurveyAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2006
- Language of interview: relevance for research of southwest Hispanics.American Journal of Public Health, 1991