Social Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women's Health in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Abstract

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, women have experienced more job loss owing to an increase in household and caregiving responsibilities. Gender inequities coupled with pandemic-related stressors have resulted in poor health outcomes among women. Globally, women have reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress in response to the pandemic. Evidence suggests that social determinants of health have contributed to women's poor health outcomes. Materials and Methods: We used the Understanding America Study to describe the social impacts women have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic when compared with men and to explore the association between partnership status and social impacts in Los Angeles. We hypothesize that women experienced greater social impacts than men and that partnership status modified these social impacts. Results: In a sample of predominantly racial and ethnic minorities, we found that women experienced more social impacts related to housing insecurity compared with men. When exploring how partnership status modified these social impacts, we found that women without partners experienced more social impacts specific to financial hardships when compared with women who were in a partnership. Conclusions: It is likely that the COVID-19 relief efforts helped women mitigate social impacts but not housing or financial security. The overall goal is to inform policies so that better measures can be implemented to prepare for the next public health disaster or global health threat.