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The COVID-19 pandemic has not only affected people’s health, but also their economic security, mental well-being and ability to work.
To shed light on the adverse effects of the pandemic on several dimensions beyond the direct effects of COVID-19 itself, the University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization is launching its first quarterly report on public health .
The report, “Health Effects and Opinions of COVID-19 in Hawaii,” takes a detailed and comprehensive look at many aspects of the pandemic – how it has affected people’s jobs, their ability to buy food and their well-being. -being mental, as well as how vaccination status comes into play.
“It looks at a variety of public health impacts, which obviously impacts the economy,” said Ruben Juarez, professor of economics at UH Manoa College of Social Sciences. “It’s just a start at this point. I hope this will serve policy makers and the community to continue the conversation with stakeholders about the strategies we need to move forward.
The report is based on survey responses from a statewide cohort of more than 2,000 Hawaiian adults in May, when the state was in the midst of its fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, according to Juarez, also UHERO’s HMSA Endowment Professor. Health economics.
UHERO assembled the cohort in partnership with the state and will conduct monthly surveys following the same people for an extended period of time.
What the report revealed is that the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on a large part of the population – two out of three respondents.
It has also caused economic hardship, with around 23% of respondents saying their savings have been depleted due to the pandemic, while around 15% say they have been unable to pay their bills, 9% have lost their job and 8% did not have enough food. for their home.
Additionally, 12.5% said they had been furloughed or had their working hours reduced.
In other aspects of life, almost 18% report problems with their children’s education and 8.7% have problems with childcare.
There was also personal loss, with 12.4% reporting the death of a close friend and 9.2% reporting the loss of a family member due to COVID-19.
Access to medical care does not appear to be a major concern, however, with only 2.6% saying they were unable to get medical care for serious problems for themselves and 3% saying ‘they were unable to get medical attention for serious problems for their family members. .
The pandemic has also impacted mental health, with one in three residents surveyed reporting symptoms of depression. Even more alarming, 4.2% of survey respondents said they had considered suicide in the past year.
UHERO also found that 31.3% of respondents who tested positive for COVID had long COVID or long-term symptoms after infection.
The most common symptoms were cough and shortness of breath, followed by extreme fatigue, mental fog and headache.
Of those with long COVID, about half reported moderate to severe symptoms.
This potentially affects the size of Hawaii’s workforce as many sectors of the economy grapple with staffing shortages, Juarez said.
The report also looks at the characteristics of those who are still unvaccinated, including where they get their sources of information about the pandemic and how they cope.
Unvaccinated people tend to be younger, according to the report, with a higher percentage among people in their 30s than among those aged 50 and over.
Also, the higher the level of education, the more likely individuals are to be vaccinated, according to the survey. People with a graduate degree or a bachelor’s degree reported very low non-vaccination rates, at 3% and 4%, respectively. The highest percentage of unvaccinated people, 41%, did not have a high school diploma.
Those who weren’t vaccinated tended to get more information from social media and religious leaders than from medical providers, government sources or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There are still disparities between ethnic groups and the highest percentage of unvaccinated in the state – at 21% – are Pacific Islanders.
This could be useful for the state health department, Juarez said, to refine its messages or target strategies for immunization awareness.
According to the survey, those who are not vaccinated tend to experience more hardship, food insecurity and depression, which likely reflects socioeconomic disparities.
Most respondents, around 58%, saw the current impact of COVID-19 on their lives as a health issue, while around 31% found it to be more of an inconvenience; 7% thought it was neither, and about 4% didn’t know how it affected them.
If there were to be another big wave of COVID-19, the majority of respondents, 92%, expressed a willingness to wear a mask in indoor public spaces.
In a separate question, however, 8.2% said they thought the pandemic was already over.
The May survey included 2,030 adults statewide, with a higher proportion of women, at 62%, and an age range of 18 to 70 and older. More than 40% were 60 or older. The sample cohort was also more educated than the state as a whole.
Of those surveyed, around 25% had said they had tested positive for COVID.
The report noted that the data has limitations and that self-reported participants may provide more socially desirable responses.
UHERO conducted the surveys in partnership with the Pacific Alliance Against COVID-19. The investigations are supported, in part, by federal coronavirus funding.
Juarez said that in the coming months, the surveys will provide a better understanding of the state’s public health issues, document changes over time and offer insight into new challenges that may arise.
