Human Activity and Mobility Data Reveal Disparities in Exposure Risk Reduction Indicators among Socially Vulnerable Populations during COVID-19

TL;DR

This study analyzes mobility and activity data to reveal that socially vulnerable populations in U.S. cities experienced increased exposure risk during COVID-19 due to less effective implementation of protective measures, highlighting disparities in NPI impacts.

Contribution

It provides a detailed spatial analysis of how NPIs affected mobility and exposure risks among vulnerable groups, using granular datasets and network analysis methods.

Findings

Socially vulnerable populations showed increased mobility after NPIs.

Higher visits to points of interest increased exposure risk for vulnerable groups.

Disparities in NPI effectiveness highlight need for equitable policies.

Abstract

Non-pharmacologic interventions (NPIs) are one method to mitigate the spread and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. NPIs promote protective actions to reduce exposure risk and can reduce mobility patterns within communities. Growing research literature suggests that socially vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted with higher infection and higher fatality rates of COVID-19, though there is limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms to this health disparity. Thus, the research examines two distinct and complimentary datasets at a granular scale for five urban locations. Through statistical and spatial analyses, the research extensively investigates the exposure risk reduction of socially vulnerable populations due to NPIs. The mobility dataset tracks population movement across ZIP codes; it is used for an origin-destination network analysis. The population activity dataset is based on the number of visits from census block groups (CBG) to points of interest (POIs), such as grocery stores, restaurants, education centers, and medical facilities; it is used for network analysis of population-facilities interactions. The mobility dataset showed that, after the implementation of NPIs, socially vulnerable populations engaged in increased mobility in the form of inflow between ZIP code areas. Similarly, population activity analysis showed an increased exposure risk for socially vulnerable populations based on a greater number of inflow visits of CBGs to POIs, which increases the risk of contact at POIs, and a greater number of outflow visits from POIs to home CBGs, which increases risk of transmission within CBGs. These findings can assist emergency planners and public health officials in comprehending how different groups are able to implement protective actions and can inform more equitable and data-driven NPI policies for future epidemics.