AI Article Synopsis
- Infectious diseases, like COVID-19, spread quickly in a globalized world, making it hard to pinpoint vulnerable populations due to intertwined individual, social, economic, and cultural factors.
- This study aimed to identify factors that make people more susceptible to infections and severe outcomes by reviewing 45 articles published from 2019 to 2023 and categorizing vulnerabilities into individual, social, and programmatic dimensions.
- The findings show that social vulnerabilities (like race, homelessness, and socioeconomic status) worsen individual health issues (like cancer and obesity), creating a cycle that highlights the need for public policies to address these vulnerabilities in health strategies for future pandemics.
Article Abstract
Introduction: Infectious diseases can spread rapidly in the globalized world, and the complex intersection of individual, social, economic, and cultural factors make it difficult to identify vulnerabilities in the face of pandemics.
Methods: Therefore, this study aimed to identify vulnerability factors to infection and worse outcomes associated with COVID-19. This is a scoping review study of six databases that selected publications between 2019 and 2023, focusing on individual, social, and programmatic dimensions of vulnerability. The results were recorded in a spreadsheet and analyzed, considering the interrelationships among these dimensions.
Results: A total of 45 articles were included in the review. Content analysis was conducted using the theoretical framework of health vulnerability, which divides vulnerability into individual, social, and programmatic dimensions. Race/ethnicity, homelessness, incarceration, socioeconomic level, food insecurity, and remote areas were classified as social dimensions. On the other hand, cancer, cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, advanced age, obesity, mental disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, and pregnancy were classified as individual dimensions. None of the publications found explicitly mentioned programmatic vulnerabilities.
Discussion: The research found that social vulnerabilities reinforce individual vulnerabilities, creating a vicious cycle. In addition, programmatic vulnerabilities reinforce this relationship. This study emphasizes that public policies should address these different dimensions of vulnerability. It suggests that this information should be incorporated into health surveillance and future decision-making to face new pandemics.
Systematic Review Registration: https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-wgfmj-v1.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11499102 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1432370 | DOI Listing |
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