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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1603629

This article is part of the Research TopicRacial and Ethnic Inequalities in Multiple Long-term Conditions: Current Trends and Viable SolutionsView all 7 articles

Sliding Down the Socioeconomic Health Gradient of COVID-19 in New York City: Multinomial regression analyses of disproportionate financial hardship for Black, Latin, and Asian residents and households with children

Provisionally accepted
Rose  JimenezRose Jimenez*Sheena  DorvilSheena DorvilJennifer  PierreJennifer PierreChristina  NievesChristina NievesLauren  J. ShimanLauren J. ShimanTanzia  ShaheenTanzia ShaheenRachel  DanneferRachel DanneferShale  MaulanaShale MaulanaNika  NorvilaNika Norvila
  • New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Distinct socioeconomic gradients in COVID-19 outcomes were observed across the United States, so an evaluation of individual resident characteristics related to economic deprivation (race or ethnicity, precarious employment, children in the household) was conducted to inform neighborhood reach strategies by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. A cross-sectional survey was fielded to participants from a probability-based sample of South Bronx, North and Central Brooklyn, and East and Central Harlem residents. Responses rates for financial difficulty experienced since the pandemic onset were organized into three categories: "never" experiencing financial difficulty, or experiencing "short-term" or "prolonged" financial difficulty. Controlling for age, gender, birthplace, educational attainment, income level, employment, and financial assistance received, two multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the prevalent association between race-ethnicity or household composition and the type of financial difficulty experienced. We found that Black residents, Latino residents, residents with children in their household, and people living ≥200% below the poverty threshold were most likely to experience financial difficulty. Compared to non-Latino White residents, all other racial and ethnic groups were twice as likely to experience prolonged financial difficulty. Households with children were 40% less likely to avoid financial difficulty and 52% more likely to experience prolonged financial difficulty compared to those without. Delays and premature discontinuation of benefits were correlated to avoidable hardship to those in need. Government policy fosters the inequitable distribution of resources in the U.S. those policies continue to predispose vulnerable groups to harm through economic deprivation and racial residential segregation.

Keywords: New York City, Economic deprivation, Socioeconomic Health Gradients, Households with children, Precarious employment, COVID-19, health equity, health geography

Received: 31 Mar 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Jimenez, Dorvil, Pierre, Nieves, J. Shiman, Shaheen, Dannefer, Maulana and Norvila. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Rose Jimenez, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, United States

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