Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Nov 30;16(11):e0259665. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259665. eCollection 2021.
Health varies by U.S. region of residence. Despite regional heterogeneity in the outbreak of COVID-19, regional differences in physical distancing behaviors over time are relatively unknown. This study examines regional variation in physical distancing trends during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigates variation by race and socioeconomic status (SES) within regions. Data from the 2015-2019 five-year American Community Survey were matched with anonymized location pings data from over 20 million mobile devices (SafeGraph, Inc.) at the Census block group level. We visually present trends in the stay-at-home proportion by Census region, race, and SES throughout 2020 and conduct regression analyses to examine these patterns. From March to December, the stay-at-home proportion was highest in the Northeast (0.25 in March to 0.35 in December) and lowest in the South (0.24 to 0.30). Across all regions, the stay-at-home proportion was higher in block groups with a higher percentage of Blacks, as Blacks disproportionately live in urban areas where stay-at-home rates were higher (0.009 [CI: 0.008, 0.009]). In the South, West, and Midwest, higher-SES block groups stayed home at the lowest rates pre-pandemic; however, this trend reversed throughout March before converging in the months following. In the Northeast, lower-SES block groups stayed home at comparable rates to higher-SES block groups during the height of the pandemic but diverged in the months following. Differences in physical distancing behaviors exist across U.S. regions, with a pronounced Southern and rural disadvantage. Results can be used to guide reopening and COVID-19 mitigation plans.
健康状况因美国居住地区而异。尽管 COVID-19 爆发存在地区差异，但随着时间的推移，在物理距离行为方面的地区差异相对未知。本研究考察了 COVID-19 大流行期间物理距离趋势的区域变化，并调查了区域内种族和社会经济地位（SES）差异。2015-2019 年五年期美国社区调查的数据与来自 2000 多万移动设备（SafeGraph，Inc.）的匿名位置ping 数据在普查区组级别相匹配。我们以普查区、种族和 SES 为单位，以可视化的方式呈现 2020 年全年居家比例的趋势，并进行回归分析来检验这些模式。从 3 月到 12 月，东北地区的居家比例最高（3 月为 0.25，12 月为 0.35），南部地区最低（0.24-0.30）。在所有地区，黑人比例较高的街区组居家比例较高，因为黑人不成比例地生活在城市地区，那里的居家率较高（0.009[CI：0.008，0.009]）。在南部、西部和中西部，疫情前 SES 较高的街区组居家比例较低；然而，这一趋势在 3 月前发生逆转，随后几个月趋同。在东北部，较低 SES 的街区组在疫情高峰期与较高 SES 的街区组保持相同的居家率，但随后几个月出现分歧。美国各地区的物理距离行为存在差异，南部和农村地区明显处于劣势。研究结果可用于指导重新开放和 COVID-19 缓解计划。
