Identifying Social Determinants of Health Associated With COVID-19 Racial Disparities in Louisiana, USA

Across the United States, the disparities in COVID-19 mortality among Black communities has imbued and heightened the devastation of this pandemic. Institutional racism, historical and contemporary, has led to a synergistic framework of cumulatively negative social determinants of health for some communities in this country. Communities of color, in particular, often experience higher rates of pre-existing conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, that are subsequently related to higher vulnerability for COVID-19 infection and death. In the state of Louisiana, the racial disparity in COVID-19 mortality is especially concerning, with Black people accounting for 50% of known COVID-19 related deaths, while only representing 32% of the state population. This work will look at key determinants, including environmental, societal, and economic factors, that play a role in COVID-19 health risks among communities of color in Louisiana. We will examine structural inequities, environmental injustices as defined by air and water quality, the number of essential workers, rate of pre-existing conditions, and access to affordable health care on the parish level. This information will then be correlated with data on perceived and experienced COVID-19 risk by race across the state parishes as well. The goal is to demonstrate how inequities existing in predominantly Black communities, due to systemic racism, have led directly to the racial disparity in COVID-19 mortality, and higher perceived risk of death expressed by many Black Louisiana citizens.