Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, Houston, Texas.
Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler St, Houston, TX 77030. Email:
Prev Chronic Dis. 2020 Oct 1;17:E119. doi: 10.5888/pcd17.200322.
Little is known about the social needs of low-income households with children during the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Our objective was to conduct a cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative descriptive analysis of a rapid-response survey among low-income households with children on social needs, COVID-19-related concerns, and diet-related behaviors.
We distributed an electronic survey in April 2020 to 16,435 families in 4 geographic areas, and 1,048 responded. The survey asked families enrolled in a coordinated school-based nutrition program about their social needs, COVID-19-related concerns, food insecurity, and diet-related behaviors during the pandemic. An open-ended question asked about their greatest concern. We calculated descriptive statistics stratified by location and race/ethnicity. We used thematic analysis and an inductive approach to examine the open-ended comments.
More than 80% of survey respondents were familiar with COVID-19 and were concerned about infection. Overall, 76.3% reported concerns about financial stability, 42.5% about employment, 69.4% about food availability, 31.0% about housing stability, and 35.9% about health care access. Overall, 93.5% of respondents reported being food insecure, a 22-percentage-point increase since fall 2019. Also, 41.4% reported a decrease in fruit and vegetable intake because of COVID-19. Frequency of grocery shopping decreased and food pantry usage increased. Qualitative assessment identified 4 main themes: 1) fear of contracting COVID-19, 2) disruption of employment status, 3) financial hardship, and 4) exacerbated food insecurity.
Our study highlights the compounding effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on households with children across the spectrum of social needs.
在 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行期间，我们对有孩子的低收入家庭的社会需求知之甚少。我们的目的是对有孩子的低收入家庭进行一项关于社会需求、COVID-19 相关问题和饮食行为的快速反应调查，进行横断面定量和定性描述性分析。
我们于 2020 年 4 月向 4 个地理区域的 16435 个家庭分发了电子调查问卷，有 1048 个家庭做出了回应。该调查询问了参加学校综合营养计划的家庭在大流行期间的社会需求、COVID-19 相关问题、粮食不安全和饮食行为。一个开放式问题询问了他们最关心的问题。我们按地点和种族/族裔对描述性统计数据进行了分层。我们使用主题分析和归纳方法来检查开放式评论。
超过 80%的调查受访者熟悉 COVID-19 并对感染感到担忧。总体而言，76.3%的人报告对财务稳定表示担忧，42.5%的人报告对就业表示担忧，69.4%的人报告对食物供应表示担忧，31.0%的人报告对住房稳定表示担忧，35.9%的人报告对医疗保健的可及性表示担忧。总体而言，93.5%的受访者报告粮食不安全，比 2019 年秋季增加了 22 个百分点。此外，41.4%的人报告由于 COVID-19，水果和蔬菜摄入量减少。杂货购物的频率下降，食品储藏室的使用增加。定性评估确定了 4 个主要主题：1）担心感染 COVID-19，2）就业状况中断，3）经济困难，以及 4）粮食不安全加剧。
我们的研究强调了 COVID-19 大流行对各个社会需求层面的有孩子家庭的综合影响。
