Stressors in an Urban Environmental Justice Community During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis unfolded foregrounded by unprecedented levels of where historical underinvestment in basic infrastructure have left the working poor, uninsured, and underinsured vulnerable. Social inequalities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status leads to certain groups being disproportionately exposed to multiple environmental hazards and social stressors.

Building on the existing Health and Air Pollution Study cohort (established in 2017) based in the multiethnic urban neighborhoods in South LA, we assessed acute health symptoms, stress measures, and socioeconomic metrics between May and October 2020. We assessed the pandemic-associated traumatic stress score based on a 10-item questionnaire.

Among the 242 participants that completed a phone-based survey, we identified preexisting high-risk comorbidities: asthma or COPD (19%), diabetes (24%), hypertension (38%), and obesity (48.4%). Nearly four out of five respondents employed before the pandemic reported job loss or reduction of hours. Isolation, family, and economic concerns were among the top stressors reported by participants. Stress related to access to medical care was reported by one-quarter of participants. Stressors were reported more frequency among uninsured participants. Concern over isolation and inability to buy essential items were most associated with higher pandemic-associated traumatic stress score.

Understanding the experiences, stressors, and resources in urban environmental justice neighborhoods are key to design policies and programs aimed at improving the socioeconomic impacts of the current-and in future-public health crises.