Assessment of Disparities in COVID-19 Testing and Infection Across Language Groups in Seattle, Washington

Clinicians from New York, New York, have raised the alarm that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a disproportionate toll on their local immigrant communities. Immigrants may be more susceptible to exposure because more of them work in essential industries or reside in larger multigenerational households. Limited English language proficiency (LEP) or low health literacy can present challenges to effective communication about disease transmission. Worries about stigma, deportation, or livelihood may supersede those of a health threat, however serious. It remains unclear whether these disparities have resulted in lower comparative access to testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a patient-initiated option in all but congregant settings, or in higher rates of infection among immigrants. To clarify this issue, we evaluated the proportion of patients who completed testing and the proportion of positive cases using language as a surrogate for immigrant status.

Reference Information

Author: 

H. Nina Kim, Kristine F. Lan, Esi Nkyekyer, et al
Publisher: 
JAMA Network Open
Publication Date: 
September 2020