A cluster analysis of the social and environmental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among low-income youth

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the learning and home environments of youth across the US. It is suspected that the pandemic has both widened the racial gap in educational attainment and exacerbated health disparities. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the social, environmental, and health impacts of the pandemic on low-income youth in the St. Louis metropolitan area, an urban region with longstanding racial and income disparities in education and health outcomes. METHODS: Study participants were parents or guardians (n=122) of students aged 9-12, from the St. Louis Public School District who participated in remote learning during the Fall semester of 2020. Parents completed a questionnaire adapted from the National Institute of Health’s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes COVID-19 Questionnaire-Child Parent-Report Version. The questionnaire included demographic measures and measures of pandemic-related student impacts, such as changes in diet, sleep, physical activity, environment, and/or social connections. K-Means cluster analyses were conducted to evaluate whether multiple negative impacts concentrated in discrete clusters among students. RESULTS:We identified two distinct cluster profiles: a “dietary and social impact” profile (n=73) and an “environmental and physical” impact profile (n=49). The clusters significantly differed in race and parental relationship status. Black students and students with Single/Divorced/Widowed/Noncohabitating parents or guardians were more likely to have an “environmental and physical” profile than non-Black students and students with Married/Cohabitating parents or guardians who were more likely to have a “dietary and social impact” profile (both p0.05). CONCLUSIONS:This study provides initial findings on the social, environmental, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among low-income, urban youth. The results suggest that the negative impacts caused by the pandemic cluster and these clusters differ by race and family structure. A better understanding of these impacts will help develop strategies to mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic. KEYWORDS: Community outreach, Environmental disparities, Environmental justice, Socio-economic factors