Covid-19 Journals, May 2020

community specific covid consequences

  General.
There are quite a few barriers that can make caring for vulnerable populations properly very difficult. A large one is being overlooked in the first place, which happens without homeless population during even community health concerns. The homeless population not only lacks access to a lot of what is needed for proper hygiene and protection but many of these individuals have mental illness or chronic physical illnesses. What has become a high risk population, African American and Latino/Hispanic populations seems to be due to various factors or challenges. There are arguments regarding whether some of these “challenges” are manmade/healthcare professional mediated. Areas with large minority populations have been found to have less access to healthcare and less access to testing regarding Covid specifically. It’s also true that minority populations carry significantly higher risks for certain comorbidities than their white counterparts which may impact the the course of their illness and the difficulty of their treatment course. Many minority communities, including indigenous populations have particular beliefs, understandings, and health habits that can make their care more challenging. Indigenous populations have been found to experience a severe form of Covid in many cases due to varying immune profiles from general populations. Caring for the incarcerated population presents similar challenges as the nursing home/long term care facility populations, with exceptionally high risk due to number of individuals in a shared space… both staff and inmates/ staff and residents are at risk for transmission and very fast spread. Significant percentages of the country’s deaths include members of these two populations. 




2. Domestic Violence 
There are more reports concerning the global increase in domestic violence. Domestic Violence is an incredibly prevalent issue (year-round), receiving less attention than it deserves. I have been an advocate for domestic violence awareness for several years and can admit it’s difficult getting the word out when this issue shares a month with Breast Cancer Awareness in October. It is even more challenging I imagine when it shares a stage with a global health crisis. Due to the pandemic rates have sky rocketed. Since mandated quarantine, domestic violence victims are sheltering in place with their perpetrators, doubling the risk for violence. Some countries have reported increases in violence paralleling increases in alcohol sales, leading to greater chances of physical abuse/assault. This is an issue that hasn’t yet to addressed and hotlines are receiving more calls now than ever.
“The United Nations called on Sunday for urgent action to combat the worldwide surge in domestic violence. “I urge all governments to put women’s safety first as they respond to the pandemic,” Secretary General António Guterres wrote on Twitter.” – New York Times
It’s a difficult fight to get involved due to the nature of the relationships between victims and abusers. Most victims stay, don’t report to police or family or friends. So when quarantined with an essentially endless exposure, that won’t necessarily change. It’s also proven difficult to really track. With the drastic decrease in overall crime levels in the U.S. specifically, the number of police reports of domestic violence also declined though not as sharply. Some might take comfort in this but it’s the spike in the number of hotline and emergency service calls that have informed many of the true gravity of this crisis.
As far ways to combat this, so far the only new source I have found is various sites are putting up lists of questions you could ask yourself about your quarantine living situation as well as questions someone might have if they are concerned. Each question has an answer, information/resources. Domestic Violence is tricky because of how much silence is associated. The emergency calls/hotline calls will get responses and aid can be sent to assess the situation… but the number doesn’t stop growing with every call made so what can the government do? What can leadership do? How can people help? Like any other crisis, education is crucial. We don’t just need victims to realize the situation they are in, the signs, we need doctors, relatives, friends, passersby, any one and every one to be aware of what it looks like and what sources to offer. 

Resources: 
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/violence-against-women-during-covid-19?gclid=CjwKCAjwqpP2BRBTEiwAfpiD-_pFlsLcwBgv-vJe8_iT-k1T2_PJ9wQfzM6rcIJKW3hY16IdrP039RoCujQQAvD_BwE

https://www.thehotline.org/

https://ncadv.org/get-help
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3. Nursing Homes
A significant amount of the deaths due to Covid-19 consist of nursing home residents and staff across the country. This week AARP released an article acknowledging not just the numbers but the impact of poor or discretionary reporting of case and death totals. States are not rewired to publicly share this information but they are rewired to report the facility, number of cases, and number od deaths to the CDC, as well as the residents and family members. The Federal Government plans to share this information publicly but hasn’t started to do so yet according to the AARP. I was reading somewhere else that in one facility as many as 27 employees tested positive and many resident mortalities soon followed. An estimate of about 16,000 deaths (a low estimate) are resident and staff deaths nationwide. And the refusal of some states to share any or all of its information publicly I understand may be for economic reasons, another delicate and damaged aspect due to the pandemic. However, it is hard to encourage proper prevention techniques in the communities without allowing them to at least be aware of the actual severity in the area. Nursing home staff are in and out, meaning exposure threats are not just to residents but the general population. The AARP goes on to say the data regarding this so inconsistent due to the various nature of how states are reporting, some using facility names, some only certain types of facilities. I agree that transparency regarding this matter is crucial if there is going to be even the slightest difference made in how the virus has impacted these communities.