{"669205":{"#nid":"669205","#data":{"type":"news","title":"School of Economics Study Charts America\u2019s Monthly Struggle with Covid-19 Hardships","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs many as one in five Americans experienced multiple hardships during the worst days of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the most common combination being job insecurity paired with mental health issues, according to a new study from Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Economics.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s11205-023-03176-9\u0022\u003Estudy\u003C\/a\u003E, published recently in the journal\u003Cem\u003E Social Indicators Research\u003C\/em\u003E, is the first to provide a month-to-month picture detailing how the combined impacts of job and housing insecurity, trouble putting food on the table, and mental health took a toll on Americans during the most difficult months of the pandemic, from April 2020 to March 2022.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESuch research emphasizes the need for policies to address overlapping challenges to help protect U.S. residents the next time a pandemic strikes, said Shatakshee Dhongde, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/econ.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Economics\u003C\/a\u003E and the study\u2019s lead author.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cAs we continue to navigate the lingering repercussions of the pandemic, we must work to understand the multifaceted nature of these hardships if we hope to design effective policies,\u201d Dhongde said. \u201cOur research aims to provide policymakers with insights into these overlapping challenges in hopes of fostering a more resilient and equitable society.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMonth-to-Month Hardships Detailed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs part of their study, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/shatakshee-dhongde\u0022\u003EDhongde\u003C\/a\u003E and Brian Glassman, Chief of Poverty Statistics at the U.S. Census Bureau, created an index representing the degree to which Americans experienced combined hardships. It peaked in December 2020, just ahead of the pandemic\u2019s second major spike in cases and deaths. It began to fall until April 2021, a month after the third round of economic stimulus payments from the U.S. government. The index remained steady until December 2021 \u2014 amid the pandemic\u2019s third major peak in cases and deaths.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe study found that individual concerns about job insecurity peaked very early in the pandemic, in April 2020, as many states were imposing lockdowns and other measures to slow the virus\u2019 spread. Housing insecurity reached its apex in July 2020, while food insecurity and mental health issues topped out in December 2020.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDhongde\u2019s study also reinforces previous findings that hardships during the pandemic affected minorities more than white people. For instance, the study found that Black and Latino adults faced more food insufficiency than white adults. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe researchers also examined the disparate geographic impact of the pandemic, determining that residents of southern and western states were hit hardest by multiple hardships.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EData for the study came from the Census Bureau\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.census.gov\/data\/experimental-data-products\/household-pulse-survey.html\u0022\u003EHousehold Pulse Survey\u003C\/a\u003E, created to gather information on the well-being of U.S. residents during the pandemic.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDhongde has become a champion for considering the combined effects of financial and non-financial measures of well-being to understand the impact of economic conditions and crises such as the pandemic. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor instance, her \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/research\/features\/multidimensional-poverty-seniors\u0022\u003Eprevious research\u003C\/a\u003E has shown that people with less education are more likely to have health issues, suggesting literacy education as a way to help people make better health choices \u2014 and to hold down the cost of health care.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cCrises such as the pandemic are never solely health issues. They are also employment and food issues, among other things,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can really only understand the full extent of their impact by looking at all of these measures at once.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe article, \u201cMultidimensional Hardships in the U.S. During the Covid-19 Pandemic,\u201d was published online in the journal\u003Cem\u003E Social Indicators Research\u003C\/em\u003E on July 16, 2023. It is available at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11205-023-03176-9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Ehttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11205-023-03176-9\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDecember 2020 was when the greatest number of people reported experiencing multiple hardships during the pandemic, according to the research.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"December 2020 was when the greatest number of people reported experiencing multiple hardships during the pandemic."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2023-08-28 13:18:15","changed_gmt":"2023-08-31 14:14:01","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671494":{"id":"671494","type":"image","title":"The Covid-19 pandemic hit many Americans hard. New research charts how we dealt with multiple hardships on a month-by-month basis.","body":null,"created":"1693228727","gmt_created":"2023-08-28 13:18:47","changed":"1693423730","gmt_changed":"2023-08-30 19:28:50","alt":"A yellow paper cutout of a person surrounded by Covid-19 related headlines","file":{"fid":"254565","name":"covid hardship stock.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/08\/28\/covid%20hardship%20stock.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/08\/28\/covid%20hardship%20stock.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1014832,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/08\/28\/covid%20hardship%20stock.jpg?itok=K5jR7mlh"}}},"media_ids":["671494"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1282","name":"School of Economics"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71901","name":"Society and Culture"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}