Blog Series – Covid-19: Stories, Insights and Perspectives Brandon Grant

By Corrinne Fahl

COVID-19 Education: The reason we must intervene during times of uncertainty 

On February 11, the World Health Organization officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus as COVID-19. At that time the virus felt like it was a world away from our doorsteps. Few could have predicted that less than two months later we would be facing a public health crisis here in our local community that is impacting communities of color disproportionately. Originally it was assumed that that first US fatality was in late February, but recently learned COVID-19 was present prior to that. As uncertainty remained around how wide spread this disease was at the time, we still find ourselves lingering in uncertainty as to when the spreading will stop. COVID-19, categorized as a pandemic has and continues to cause high rates of mortality and morbidity throughout the world.

While this disease has affected many individuals around the globe, within the United States COVID-19 has brought to light the many inequalities and inequities within healthcare:

  • The CDC recently reported the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), March 1-30 that African Americans make up 18% of the community and account for 33% of hospitalizations. Hispanics make up 14% of the community and account for 8% of hospitalizations.
  • Within New York, it was identified that the death rates among African Americans were 92.3 deaths per 100,000 cases.
  • In my home state of Michigan, though African Americans make up 14% of Michigan’s population, they account for 33% of COVID cases and 40% of COVID-19 related deaths.
  • Within Philadelphia, African American patients are dying at a rate of 7.1 for every 10,000 cases, which is a 54% higher death rate compared to COVID-19 Patients that are white.

There is great uncertainty and fear around how these numbers have the potential to grow, but there is no uncertainty that there are needs for strategic interventions. 

To combat these alarming numbers, Penn Medicine developed a Community Outreach Plan to provide resources to our communities. In order to understand what tools/support is necessary, we had to understand what barriers the minority community are facing.  Some of these barriers include access to educational materials, the lack of trust within America’s health system, underlying health conditions, misconception of Africans Americans being immune, access to testing and the inability to stay at home. We knew that one of the most important barriers to tackle is through education around COVID-19. The CDC created many educational materials that can help address some of the barriers mentioned, in addition to hotlines and programs we could supply to the community. With understanding the barriers to access- we knew we needed to create a document that compiled COVID-19 guidance that we could share with community leaders within Philadelphia in order to disseminate throughout the community. This information is useful and applicable to all and can help individuals understand what they should know about COVID-19, tips for making masks, what to do for those at higher risk, and hotlines to call in need, etc. Below, you will find the Navigating through COVID-19 guide:

https://www.pennmedicine.org/-/media/documents%20and%20audio/print%20collateral%20documents/covid%2019/navigating%20through%20covid%2019.ashx?la=en

I challenge you to not only share this document within your household, job and/or community, but I also encourage you to find out how you can be the difference in helping us navigate through times of uncertainty.

For questions, resources, and a list of references used, please email: Brandon.Grant@PennMedicine.Upenn.edu

Brandon Grant, MPH
Strategic Support Manager, Office of the CEO
Penn Medicine