Like most other aspects of health care in the United States, social determinants of health play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, a report released by the Federal Reserve found that in 2018, nearly 40% of people in the United States would not be able to afford an unexpected $400 expense.
“We’re seeing that most people are one pay check away from being not able to keep up with the basics like food or other essential supplies, so there are a lot of people out there who are really hurting and panicking now,” Richard Marlink, MD, director of the Rutgers Global Health Institute, told Healio Primary Care.
Marlink and Russell Scott Phillips, MD, director of the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Primary Care, spoke with Healio Primary Care about other ways in which social determinants of health are impacting patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.