Impacts of Chronic Disease and Mobility Patterns on Elderly Populations During a Global Pandemic
Location
College of Science and Mathematics (COSM)
Session Format
Poster Presentation
Co-Presenters and Faculty Mentors or Advisors
Dr. Meimei Lin, Faculty Advisor
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 became an international concern and a public health emergency with the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) described the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. As of March 1st, 2021, there are over 114 million cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide with over 28 million cases reported in the United States. Evidence suggests social distancing has been key in reducing the rates of COVID-19 transmission. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, more information is needed to understand how areas with more vulnerable populations, elderly populations in particular, are impacted by COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed the prevalence of chronic disease and mobility patterns among population aged 65 and over to see how they are associated with COVID-19 confirmed cases and mortality rate. We found that the prevalence of chronic disease was significantly positively correlated with COVID-19 cases and overall deaths. The elderly populations were associated with increases in mobility, thus less social distancing. Our study presents possible explanations for those findings and provides policy recommendations for US counties with higher populations of aged 65 and over.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Barrs, Katherine, "Impacts of Chronic Disease and Mobility Patterns on Elderly Populations During a Global Pandemic" (2021). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 62.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2021/2021/62
Impacts of Chronic Disease and Mobility Patterns on Elderly Populations During a Global Pandemic
College of Science and Mathematics (COSM)
The outbreak of COVID-19 became an international concern and a public health emergency with the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) described the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. As of March 1st, 2021, there are over 114 million cases of COVID-19 reported worldwide with over 28 million cases reported in the United States. Evidence suggests social distancing has been key in reducing the rates of COVID-19 transmission. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, more information is needed to understand how areas with more vulnerable populations, elderly populations in particular, are impacted by COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed the prevalence of chronic disease and mobility patterns among population aged 65 and over to see how they are associated with COVID-19 confirmed cases and mortality rate. We found that the prevalence of chronic disease was significantly positively correlated with COVID-19 cases and overall deaths. The elderly populations were associated with increases in mobility, thus less social distancing. Our study presents possible explanations for those findings and provides policy recommendations for US counties with higher populations of aged 65 and over.
