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1. Fishing in the time of COVID: Assessing risk in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery and the societal benefits of social science research

   Holen, Davin; Howe, E. Lance; Chi, Guangqing (January 2023, Arctic yearbook)

   Around 13,000 people from outside Alaska arrive each summer in the Bristol Bay region of Western Alaska to participate in the world’s most valuable wild salmon fishery. The small regional hub community of Dillingham is the home port of the Nushagak River salmon fishery. The National Science Foundation funded a RAPID project to assess planning needs for the fishery, community, and region. Our project developed pandemic preparedness scenarios for local residents and decision-makers through online surveys to better understand the costs and benefits of varied mitigation policies; and risk preferences from fishers, processors, local residents, and local decision-makers to better understand cooperation and decisions under risk and uncertainty. 

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2. Clinicians, cooks, and cashiers: Examining health equity and the COVID-19 risks to essential workers

   https://doi.org/10.1177/0748233720970439  

   Roberts, Jennifer D; Dickinson, Katherine L; Koebele, Elizabeth; Neuberger, Lindsay; Banacos, Natalie; Blanch-Hartigan, Danielle; Welton-Mitchell, Courtney; Birkland, Thomas A (September 2020, Toxicology and Industrial Health)

   null (Ed.)

   In Spring/Summer 2020, most individuals living in the United States experienced several months of social distancing and stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Clinicians, restaurant cooks, cashiers, transit operators, and other essential workers (EWs), however, continued to work outside the home during this time in order to keep others alive and maintain a functioning society. In the United States, EWs are often low-income persons of color who are more likely to face socioeconomic vulnerabilities, systemic racism, and health inequities. To assess the various impacts of COVID-19 on EWs, an online survey was distributed to a representative sample of individuals residing in six states during May/June 2020. The sample included 990 individuals who identified as EWs and 736 nonessential workers (NWs). We assessed differences between EW and NW respondents according to three categories related to health equity and social determinants of health: (1) demographics (e.g. race/ethnicity); (2) COVID-19 exposure risk pathways (e.g. ability to social distance); and (3) COVID-19 risk perceptions (e.g. perceived risk of contracting COVID-19). EWs were more likely to be Black or Hispanic than NWs and also had lower incomes and education levels on average. Unsurprisingly, EWs were substantially more likely to report working outside the home and less likely to report social distancing and wearing masks indoors as compared to NWs. EWs also perceived a slightly greater risk of contracting COVID-19. These findings, which we discuss in the context of persistent structural inequalities, systemic racism, and health inequities within the United States, highlight ways in which COVID-19 exacerbates existing socioeconomic vulnerabilities faced by EWs. 

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3. Left Behind: Yachts, Dinghies, and Perceptions of Social Inequality in COVID-19

   https://doi.org/10.1080/00380253.2022.2133755  

   Ravenelle, Alexandrea J.; Conley, Jacob; Newell, Abigail (November 2022, The Sociological Quarterly)

   Little is known about how portrayals of American unity (i.e. “we’re all in this together”) have been received by essential workers on the front lines of the COVID risk divide, and how the pandemic may have contributed to perceptions of class inequality among lower-income workers. In this paper, we draw upon 192 in-depth interviews with precarious and gig-based workers in New York City. We find that during the height of the first wave of the pandemic, precarious workers often expressed frustration over class-based inequalities and antagonism toward elites. Many respondents expressed significant skepticism toward messages that the pandemic has brought Americans together. Instead, workers identified two distinct, class-based realities in New York: elite Americans are able to socially-distance in “mansions,” or on “yachts,” while precarious workers struggled to weather the storm in “dinghies.” Likewise, workers felt “abandoned” by wealthy owners and managers, who fled the city to socially-distanced homes in beach communities and surrounding suburbs. Our findings suggest that low-wage, high-risk workers articulate complex conceptualizations of inequality and convey grievances toward elites during the pandemic. This study contributes to broader literature on perceived inequality, the rise of noxious work, and the social consequences of COVID-19. 

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4. Changes over Time in Association Patterns between Estimated COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates and Demographic, Socioeconomic and Health Factors in the US States of Florida and New York

   https://doi.org/10.3390/covid2100102  

   Joshi, Mansi; Di, Yanming; Bhattacharyya, Sharmodeep; Chatterjee, Shirshendu (October 2022, COVID)

   The United States struggled exceptionally during the COVID-19 pandemic. For researchers and policymakers, it is of great interest to understand the risk factors associated with COVID-19 when examining data aggregated at a regional level. We examined the county-level association between the reported COVID-19 case fatality rate (CFR) and various demographic, socioeconomic and health factors in two hard-hit US states: New York and Florida. In particular, we examined the changes over time in the association patterns. For each state, we divided the data into three seasonal phases based on observed waves of the COVID-19 outbreak. For each phase, we used tests of correlations to explore the marginal association between each potential covariate and the reported CFR. We used graphical models to further clarify direct or indirect associations in a multivariate setting. We found that during the early phase of the pandemic, the association patterns were complex: the reported CFRs were high, with great variation among counties. As pandemics progressed, especially during the winter phase, socioeconomic factors such as median household income and health-related factors such as the prevalence of adult smokers and mortality rate of respiratory diseases became more significantly associated with the CFR. It is remarkable that common risk factors were identified for both states. 

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5. Evacuate or social distance? Modeling the influence of threat perceptions on hurricane evacuation in a dual‐threat environment

   https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14202  

   Wu, Hao‐Che; Murphy, Haley; Greer, Alex; Clay, Lauren (August 2023, Risk Analysis)

   Abstract This study investigates how different risk predictors influenced households’ evacuation decisions during a dual‐threat event (Hurricane Laura and COVID‐19 pandemic). The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) literature indicates that perceived threat variables are the most influential variables that drive evacuation decisions. This study applies the PADM to investigate a dual‐threat disaster that has conflicting protective action recommendations. Given the novelty, scale, span, impact, and messaging around COVID‐19, it is crucial to see how hurricanes along the Gulf Coast—a hazard addressed seasonally by residents with mostly consistent protective action messaging—produce different reactions in residents in this pandemic context. Household survey data were collected during early 2021 using a disproportionate stratified sampling procedure to include households located in mandatory and voluntary evacuation areas across the coastal counties in Texas and parishes in Louisiana that were affected by Hurricane Laura. Structural equation modeling was used to identify the relationships between perceived threats and evacuation decisions. The findings suggest affective risk perceptions strongly affected cognitive risk perceptions (CRPs). Notably, hurricane and COVID‐19 CRPs are significant predictors of hurricane evacuation decisions in different ways. Hurricane CRPs encourage evacuation, but COVID‐19 CRPs hinder evacuation decisions. 

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