The COVID- 19 Pandemic and Rural Communities of Color: Examining the Impact of Race, Healthcare Accessibility, and Health Literacy in Waller County, Texas
Kalyse Houston Mentor: Marco Robinson Division of Social Sciences Introduction: The looming Covid-19 Pandemic exposed a myriad of lingering issues associated with racial inequality, health literacy, and access to healthcare in urban and rural communities across the United States. In the wake of Coronavirus transmission in Texas, Houston/Harris County has been accounting for the majority of the state’s escalating cases. With the focus being placed on the larger metropolitan areas of Texas, the circumstances around the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on African American residents living in many of the state’s rural enclaves are currently being overlooked. One of the key geographical areas of oversight is rural Waller County, Texas. This pilot study examines the experiences of black residents of Waller County during the pandemic through collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data was a survey collected through Survey Monkey. The survey covered health literacy, knowledge of COVID-19, and the impact of race on their medical care. The qualitative data was collected via zoom interviews included detailed discussions of the impact of COVID-19 on their individual lives. This mixed methods approach will extrapolate rich quantitative and qualitative information that provide unique insights and show a rare in depth perspective to their individual situations. Recruiting participants from a local black church (St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church), this study explores black residents’ health literacy related to Covid-19, the socio-economic factors influencing their quality of life, and the availability of healthcare in the immediate area. By triangulating these three variables, this project analyzes the impact of Covid-19 and race on Waller County’s African American resident’s health status. The data collected will serve as baseline information to give the investigators insights for expanding the study to other area churches and seeking funding to support a project long-term. Ultimately, the data and findings from this study can be used by local community leaders, along with state and federal policy makers, to inform their decisions regarding allocating resources and providing services to residents of rural areas during future pandemics.
Methodology: For this pilot study, interviews are being conducted via zoom. The survey was administered via survey monkey in order to maintain safety. Purposive sampling is being employed to obtain participants via St. Francis Assisi Episcopal Church in Waller County, Texas. A selected liaison at the church initiates permission to contact these individuals and connects the research team to church members. Inclusion criteria will be men and women 18 years of age or older who are African American, members of the church, and residents of Waller County, Texas. Dr. Marco Robinson, PI and Dr. Andrea Brooks, Co-PI, conducted the interviews. My role as research assistant entailed transcribing and editing interviews, data analysis of survey submissions and exploring the impact of COVID-19 through secondary literature. The team is in the data gatherings stage where we are still administering surveys and conducting interviews. We have 12 completed oral interviews and surveys from participants. There were four male and eight female participants between the ages of 18 and 99. Majority of the participants were between the ages of 55 and 64. All questioning surrounds determining the impact of COVID-19 and race on congregants health. The data collected reveals that 25% of the participants have someone in their immediate family who contracted COVID-19. Additionally,the data also reveals that 25% of the participants were negatively impacted by the virus. Around 50% of participants said that they did have treatment facilities in their immediate area. Many respondents were not available to reply due to COVID-19 exposure. The team is continuing to collect data through the summer of 2021 from other congregants at St. Francis Assisi and applying for additional funding to expand the study. References: Andrulis DP, & Brach C. (2007). Integrating literacy, culture, and language to improve health care quality for diverse populations. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31, S122-33. Bavel, J.J.V., Baicker, K., Boggio, P.S. et al. Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response. Nat Hum Behav 4, 460–471 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0884-z. Bibbins-Domingo, K. (2020). This time must be different: Disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annals of Internal Page 129 Medicine, doi:10.7326/M20-2247. of 3
