Emergency Department Surveillance of Self-Reported Covid-19

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates continuous surveillance for effective public health and policy interventions.
• Gaps exist in COVID-19 surveillance data, particularly concerning underserved populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess self-reported COVID-19 positivity rates in a national sample of emergency department (ED) patients.
• To address surveillance data gaps for underserved populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from two cross-sectional survey studies.
• Included adult patients from 19 U.S. EDs across two distinct periods: December 2020-March 2021 and December 2022-December 2023.

Main Results:

• In Period 1 (n=2101), 15.8% reported positive COVID-19 tests, with higher rates in Hispanic and non-English speakers.
• In Period 2 (n=3658), 45.8% reported positive tests, with higher rates in women, White (non-Hispanic) individuals, Hispanic individuals, and non-English speakers compared to their respective counterparts.

Conclusions:

• Hispanic individuals consistently exhibited higher rates of prior positive COVID-19 tests throughout the pandemic.
• During the later pandemic period, women reported significantly higher rates of prior positive COVID-19 tests than men.