PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' widened by the COVID pandemic, an IU study found

Gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' widened by the COVID pandemic, an IU study found
2021-02-05
(Press-News.org) A new study by Indiana University found women, younger individuals, those with lower levels of formal education, and people of color are being hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, found that Black adults were three times as likely as whites to report food insecurity, being laid off, or being unemployed during the pandemic. Additionally, residents without a college degree were twice as likely to report food insecurity (compared to those with some college) while those not completing high school are four times as likely to report it, compared to those with a bachelor's degree.

These patterns persisted even after taking into account employment status and financial hardship before the pandemic, suggesting that the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" is being widened by the crisis.

The study found that younger adults and women were also more likely to report economic hardships.

"It is clear that the pandemic has had an extraordinary impact on the economic security of individuals who were already vulnerable and among disadvantaged groups," said Bernice Pescosolido, a distinguished professor of sociology at IU and co-author of the study. "This work demonstrates the need for strategically deployed relief efforts and longer-term policy reforms to challenge the perennial and unequal impact of disasters."

Researchers utilized the Person to Person Health Interview Study (P2P) - a statewide representative, face-to-face survey - to interview nearly 1,000 Indiana residents before (October 2018-March 2020) and during the initial stay at home order in (March-May 2020). Their goal was to determine differences in experiences of economic hardship among historically advantaged and disadvantaged groups following the COVID-19 lockdown. The authors measured four self-reported indicators of economic precarity: housing insecurity, food insecurity, general financial insecurity, and unemployment or job loss.

Previous research has shown national and global crises tend to disproportionally impact those who were already struggling financially, and it takes more vulnerable communities significantly longer to recover from disasters.

These previous findings are in line with the IU study, which shows Indiana residents already concerned with their housing, food and finances reported greater concerns with these economic hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Providing basic resources to all Americans, such as generous unemployment benefits, paid family leave, affordable federal housing and universal preschool will help communities better weather crisis," said Brea Perry, professor of sociology at IU and co-author of the study. "We need to rethink how we intervene in disasters and also strengthen our social safety net for everyone."

Perry and her team have plans to follow up after the pandemic to understand the long-term impact that COVID-19 has had on individuals and their families. While the impact may not be fully understood at this time, she said we do know that rebuilding public health and other social structures will not only assist disadvantaged groups in times of need, it will also help society at large.

INFORMATION:


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' widened by the COVID pandemic, an IU study found

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

COVID-19 transmission extremely low at group of North Carolina day camps

2021-02-05
Cases of symptomatic COVID-19 were extremely low among children and staff at a network of YMCA summer camps held last year in North Carolina that took precautions like masking and physical distancing, with close to zero transmissions occurring at the camps, according to researchers at Duke Health, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. In the camps' 2020 sessions, there were 19 cases of COVID-19 among 5,344 staff and 1,486 youth, only two of which were linked to possible on-site transmission at a group of YMCA of the Triangle camps, at a time ...

Breakthrough in quantum photonics promises a new era in optical circuits

2021-02-05
The modern world is powered by electrical circuitry on a "chip"--the semiconductor chip underpinning computers, cell phones, the internet, and other applications. In the year 2025, humans are expected to be creating 175 zettabytes (175trillion gigabytes) of new data. How can we ensure the security of sensitive data at such a high volume? And how can we address grand-challenge-like problems, from privacy and security to climate change, leveraging this data, especially given the limited capability of current computers? A promising alternative is emerging quantum communication and computation technologies. For this to happen, however, it will require the widespread ...

Today's stem cell special: Small intestine on a plate!

Todays stem cell special: Small intestine on a plate!
2021-02-05
Enterocytes, which line the epithelium of the small intestine, are the sites of absorption and metabolism of most orally consumed medications. For this reason, studies on the absorption of novel oral drugs rely on in vitro or animal models to accurately recreate the environment of the small intestine. Currently, scientists widely use the human colon cancer cell line Caco-2 as a model of the intestinal epithelium. However, this has its drawbacks: Caco-2 cells have been derived from the colon; therefore, they more closely resemble the colon than the small intestine. For example, these cells do not express cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), a protein critical for drug metabolism that is abundantly expressed in the small intestine. Moreover, Caco-2 ...

Grape consumption may protect against UV damage to skin

2021-02-05
Fresno, CA - A recent human study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that consuming grapes protected against ultraviolet (UV) skin damage.1 Study subjects showed increased resistance to sunburn and a reduction in markers of UV damage at the cellular level. 2 Natural components found in grapes known as polyphenols are thought to be responsible for these beneficial effects. The study, conducted at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and led by principal investigator Craig Elmets, M.D., investigated the impact of consuming whole grape powder - equivalent to 2.25 cups of grapes ...

Pandemic increases substance abuse, mental health issues for those struggling with obesity

Pandemic increases substance abuse, mental health issues for those struggling with obesity
2021-02-05
DALLAS - Feb. 5, 2021 - The COVID-19 pandemic is having a detrimental impact on substance use, mental health, and weight-related health behaviors among people with obesity, according to a new study by researchers at UT Southwestern and the END ...

Civil engineers find link between hospitals and schools key to community resilience

2021-02-05
Health care and education systems are two main pillars of a community's stability. How well and how quickly a community recovers following a natural disaster depends on the resilience of these essential social services. New research from the Colorado State University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, published in Nature Scientific Reports, has found hospitals and schools are interdependent, suggesting their collective recovery must be considered in order to restore a community in the wake of disaster. Because hospitals and schools are so integral to a community's well-being, Associate Professor Hussam Mahmoud and Ph.D. graduate student Emad Hassan wanted to determine the correlation between them to understand their overall influence on community ...

New way to power up nanomaterials for electronic applications

New way to power up nanomaterials for electronic applications
2021-02-05
UCLA materials scientists and colleagues have discovered that perovskites, a class of promising materials that could be used for low-cost, high-performance solar cells and LEDs, have a previously unutilized molecular component that can further tune the electronic property of perovskites. Named after Russian mineralogist Lev Perovski, perovskite materials have a crystal-lattice structure of inorganic molecules like that of ceramics, along with organic molecules that are interlaced throughout. Up to now, these organic molecules appeared to only serve a structural function and could not directly contribute to perovskites' electronic performance. Led by UCLA, a new study shows that when the organic molecules ...

At the core of the Integrator complex

2021-02-05
Gene expression is a highly regulated process, which involves several steps. These include transcription of DNA instructions into RNA, removal of non-coding segments from the RNA message, and its subsequent translation into proteins. All these steps involve specific molecular machineries responsible for conducting each process with high accuracy. The Galej group, based at EMBL Grenoble, studies the structure and function of the RNA-protein complexes that are involved in the regulation of gene expression. During transcription, genetic information contained in the DNA is used to create a precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) thanks to the action of an enzyme, RNA Polymerase II. To maintain only the necessary coding segments ...

Drop the stress

Drop the stress
2021-02-05
All life on earth evolved multiple layers and networks of ensuring survival upon catastrophic events. Even cells have their emergency plan: the heat shock response. Triggered by multiple stress stimuli such as heat, toxins, or radiation, this cellular safety program tries to prevent permanent damage to the organism. The response resembles an overall adopted "lockdown" strategy witnessed during the global corona virus pandemic. During a lockdown, only essential activities are permitted and resources were diverted towards measures ensuring minimizing the impact of a pandemic. Under normal conditions, RNA polymerase II rushes down the DNA. At the correct places, the DNA is transcribed into mRNA, which is then translated into proteins. In a crisis, ...

Study highlights risk of new SARS-CoV-2 mutations emerging during chronic infection

2021-02-05
SARS-CoV-2 mutations similar to those in the B1.1.7 UK variant could arise in cases of chronic infection, where treatment over an extended period can provide the virus multiple opportunities to evolve, say scientists. Writing in Nature, a team led by Cambridge researchers report how they were able to observe SARS-CoV-2 mutating in the case of an immunocompromised patient treated with convalescent plasma. In particular, they saw the emergence of a key mutation also seen in the new variant that led to the UK being forced once again into strict lockdown, though there is no suggestion that the variant originated from this patient. Using a synthetic version of the virus Spike protein created in the ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

[Press-News.org] Gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' widened by the COVID pandemic, an IU study found