Multidisciplinary Community-Based Investigation of a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Marshallese and Hispanic/Latino Communities - Benton and Washington Counties, Arkansas, March-June 2020

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Dec 4;69(48):1807-1811. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6948a2.

Abstract

By June 2020, Marshallese and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) persons in Benton and Washington counties of Arkansas had received a disproportionately high number of diagnoses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite representing approximately 19% of these counties' populations (1), Marshallese and Hispanic persons accounted for 64% of COVID-19 cases and 57% of COVID-19-associated deaths. Analyses of surveillance data, focus group discussions, and key-informant interviews were conducted to identify challenges and propose strategies for interrupting transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Challenges included limited native-language health messaging, high household occupancy, high employment rate in the poultry processing industry, mistrust of the medical system, and changing COVID-19 guidance. Reducing the COVID-19 incidence among communities that suffer disproportionately from COVID-19 requires strengthening the coordination of public health, health care, and community stakeholders to provide culturally and linguistically tailored public health education, community-based prevention activities, case management, care navigation, and service linkage.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Arkansas / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / ethnology
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques
  • Disease Outbreaks* / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Status Disparities
  • Hispanic or Latino* / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander* / statistics & numerical data
  • SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification
  • Young Adult