This project is funded under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s research program, “Health Data for Action (HD4A),” which makes valuable data from unique data owners available to researchers to answer important research questions. The goal of the study is to improve understanding of the uneven socio-economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on communities in New York, North Carolina, Arizona, California, Virginia, and Texas. Using TransUnion Healthcare data aggregated by zip code coupled with other demographic data sources, the study seeks to: 1) assess if regions with higher proportions of racial and ethnic minorities are experiencing disproportionate economic distress as a result of the COVID-19 recession; 2) examine if regions that were already dealing with high levels of economic distress are more or less prone to further economic distress as a result of the COVID-19 recession; and 3) explore how the economic distress of COVID-19 in metropolitan areas has affected the economy of their hinterlands. Spatial analysis (e.g., Getis-Ord Gi* hot spot analysis) will be combined with non-spatial analysis (e.g., structural equation modeling) to investigate the research questions. The investigative team represents multiple organizations joined together in the Intermountain COVID-19 Impact Consortium (ICIC). Deliverables will include a project work plan and final narrative. The researchers will also produce paper(s) suitable for publication and present findings at national research meetings and to other stakeholder audiences as appropriate, including policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels and other key stakeholders, as part of the deliverables for this grant.

Grant #78962
Grantee Organization: Utica University
Grantee period: 12/1/2021– 5/31/2023

Principal Investigators:

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Researcher

Michael B. McCarthy, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Data Science and Director of Data Science - Utica University

Michael McCarthy is Assistant Professor of Data Science and a founding member of the Intermountain COVID-19 Im... Read Bio

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Researcher

Stephanie R. Nesbitt, J.D., M.B.A.

Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance - Utica University

Stephanie Nesbitt is Dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies of Utica University and an associate p... Read Bio