Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors Associated With Increased Alcohol Purchase and Consumption in 38 Countries During the Covid-19 Pandemic

AimsTo explore changes in alcohol purchase and consumption during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and assess associations between increased alcohol purchase/use and socioeconomic and environmental factors.DesignSecondary data from a cross-sectional online survey conducted from 17 April to 25 June 2020.SettingThirty-eight countries from all continents of the world.ParticipantsA total of 37,206 adults (mean age:36.7, SD:14.8, 77% female) reporting alcohol purchasing and drinking habit before and during the pandemic.MeasurementsChanges in alcohol stock-up and frequency of alcohol use during the pandemic and increased alcohol stock-up and use were stratified by gender, age, education, household structure, working status, income loss, psychological distress, and country based on alcohol consumption per capita. The associations between increased alcohol stock-up/use and living with children, working from home, income loss and distress were examined using multivariate logistic regression, controlling for demographic factors.FindingsThe majority of respondents reported no change in their alcohol purchasing and drinking habits during the early pandemic period. Increased drinking was reported by 20.2% of respondents, while 17.6% reported decreased alcohol use. More than half (53.3%) of respondents experienced psychological distress, with one in five (20.7%) having severe distress. Female gender, being aged under 50, higher educational attainment, living with children, working from home, and psychological distress were all independently associated with increased alcohol drinking during lockdown. Limitations of the study were the non-representative sample, the data collection early in the pandemic, and the non-standard measurement of alcohol consumption.ConclusionIncreased psychological distress among people during the early pandemic period, resulted in increased alcohol consumption, especially among women with children working from home during lockdown.

A Snapshot of the Crisis of COVID-19: Estimate of the Employment Impact Due to Lockdowns in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines

When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a national health crisis, the local government of the Cagayan de Oro City (CDOC) did not implement total lockdown. The COVID-19 Adjustment Measure Program adopted by the local government probably affected the April 2020 Labor Force Survey that showed that Region 10 posted an employment rate of 88.9%, which is higher than the national average of 82.3% (Department of Labor and Employment, Region Office No. X (DOLE-X). NorMin secures highest employment rate amid COVID 19. 2020. Available from: https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1044898 [Accessed 9th May 2021]). Despite the regional figure being 6.6 percentage points higher than the national one, there is a decrease in employed persons by around 400,000 from 2.302 million persons employed in April 2019 to 1.883 million in April 2020 (Department of Labor and Employment, Region Office No. X (DOLE-X). NorMin secures highest employment rate amid COVID 19. 2020. Available from: https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1044898 [Accessed 9th May 2021]). Hence, the study determines the effect of COVID-19 protective measures implemented by the government on the economy of CDOC. Using the barangay-level and selected sectoral-level data on business registration, and employment data between 2010 and 2019, the study estimates that one-week lockdown means a [Formula: see text] 1,825 loss of income for a minimum-wage employee. One-month lockdown costs [Formula: see text]7,300 foregone income, while one-quarter lockdown (or a half of six months) is equivalent to [Formula: see text]21,900 income loss. We recommend 10 policy interventions, but the government should also think big and invest its resources into programs that create a multiplier effect on the economy. Multipliers are interventions that create ripples or positive impacts on other sectors and/or economic participants.

Patient and caregiver socioeconomic burden of first-line systemic therapy for advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma

Aim: This study assessed the work productivity and financial impact of advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas, comprising gastric, esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancers, on patients of working age and their caregivers. Patients & methods: A multicenter medical chart review and surveys of patients with advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma and their caregivers was conducted in France, Germany, the UK, China, Japan and the USA. Results: Across differing regions, the study highlighted the impact of cancer on patients’ ability to work, to function normally and on their wellbeing, as well as the economic burden placed on patients and their caregivers. Conclusion: Advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas have a significant impact on patients’ and caregivers’ well-being and are associated with reduced work productivity, and income loss.

The wealth gradient and the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on income loss, food insecurity and health care access in four sub-Saharan African geographies

Introduction While there has been considerable analysis of the health and economic effects of COVID-19 in the Global North, representative data on the distribution and depth of social and economic impacts in Africa has been more limited. Methods We analyze household data collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first wave of COVID in four African countries. We evaluate the short-term changes to household economic status and assess women’s access to health care during the first wave of COVID-19 in nationally representative samples of women aged 15–49 in Kenya and Burkina Faso, and in sub-nationally representative samples of women aged 15–49 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Lagos, Nigeria. We examine prevalence and distribution of household income loss, food insecurity, and access to health care during the COVID-19 lockdowns across residence and pre-pandemic wealth categories. We then regress pre-pandemic individual and household sociodemographic characteristics on the three outcomes. Results In three out of four samples, over 90% of women reported partial or complete loss of household income since the beginning of the coronavirus restrictions. Prevalence of food insecurity ranged from 17.0% (95% CI 13.6–20.9) to 39.8% (95% CI 36.0–43.7), and the majority of women in food insecure households reported increases in food insecurity during the COVID-19 restriction period. In contrast, we did not find significant barriers to accessing health care during COVID restrictions. Between 78·3% and 94·0% of women who needed health care were able successfully access it. When we examined pre-pandemic sociodemographic correlates of the outcomes, we found that the income shock of COVID-19 was substantial and distributed similarly across wealth groups, but food insecurity was concentrated among poorer households. Contrary to a-priori expectations, we find little evidence of women experiencing barriers to health care, but there is significant need for food support.

Avoiding material hardship: The buffer function of wealth

We assess how a variety of disruptive life-course events impact the economic wellbeing of US households and trace the importance of household wealth in helping families who experience these events avoid entering a spell of material hardship. Using longitudinal data from two panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we draw on direct measures of material hardship, disruptive events and household assets. Our analyses reveal that the relationship between disruptive events and the likelihood of experiencing a new spell of material hardship strongly varies across the wealth distribution, suggesting that high household wealth provides an effective private safety net. By distinguishing different types of disruptive events, we demonstrate that divorce, disability and income loss entail a risk of material hardship but also that this risk is effectively buffered by substantial wealth. Different types of hardship – namely, financial, food and medical hardship – respond in similar ways. Like public insurance schemes, wealth insurance helps buffer the effects of disruptive events on material hardship, but unlike public insurance schemes, reliance on private wealth further stratifies the economic wellbeing of households. Policy options for addressing this highly stratified private insurance scheme include disposing of the need for it by funding more robust public insurance, for instance through wealth taxation.

Financial Changes and Health During COVID-19 in the National Health and Aging Trends Study

This study tested associations between income decline and financial difficulty with mental health (lack of feeling anxious/depressed, recurring thoughts/nightmares, avoiding activities/thoughts, feeling jumpy/on guard) and sleep quality during COVID-19 among a national sample of 3,188 older adults. Approximately 8% of US older adults reported income decline and 6% reported financial difficulty. Although income decline and financial difficulty rates were both statistically significantly higher among those financially strained before COVID-19 (19% and 34%, respectively), income decline was more common among those with incomes ≥200% of the poverty threshold (9%) whereas financial difficulty was more common among those with incomes <200% poverty (10%). Adjusting for sociodemographic, health and depressive symptoms before COVID-19, financial difficulty was associated with worse mental health (b= -2.39, p<0.001) and sleep quality (b=-0.820, p<0.001), but income loss was not (b= -0.685, p=0.092 and b= -0.405, p=0.082, respectively). Timely interventions are needed for older adults reporting COVID-19 financial difficulty.

Older Americans With Disability Are Vulnerable to Economic and Food Insecurity During COVID-19

This study investigated whether older Americans with physical disability were vulnerable to three types of economic insecurity (difficulty paying regular bills, difficulty paying medical bills, income loss) and two types of food insecurity (economic obstacles, logistical obstacles) during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the extent to which associations are moderated by three personal characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity) and two pandemic-specific risk factors (job loss, COVID-19 diagnosis). Data were from a random 25 percent subsample of the Health and Retirement Study participants who completed a COVID-19 module administered in 2020. Our analytic sample included 3,166 adults aged 51 and older. We estimated logistic regression models to document the odds of experiencing each hardship. Persons with three or more functional limitations reported significantly higher odds of both types of food insecurity, and difficulty paying regular and medical bills, relative to those with no limitations. After controlling for health conditions, effects were no longer significant for paying medical bills, and attenuated yet remained statistically significant for other outcomes. Patterns did not differ significantly on the basis of the moderator variables. Older adults with more functional limitations are vulnerable to economic and food insecurity during the pandemic, potentially exacerbating the physical and emotional health threats imposed by the pandemic. Our findings reveal an urgent need to promote policies and procedures to protect older adults with disability from economic and food insecurity. Supports for older adults with disability should focus on logistical as well as financial support for ensuring food security.

Financial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Older Adults: Assessing Pandemic-induced Job and Income Loss

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the economic security of millions of older adults. Job loss and reductions in personal income were significant in 2020 stemming from pandemic-induced shutdowns that temporarily closed large swaths of the U.S. economy. Yet, the specific financial impacts of the pandemic on older adults, including family care partners, are not well understood. To understand the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the health and financial well-being of older adults, we gathered data from the Research via Internet of Technology and Experience (RITE) Study, a longitudinal survey panel providing data from thousands of participants of various ages and backgrounds in the U.S. on their use of healthcare and technology (N=1,365). We measured by population strata including age, sex, and education and other characteristics including caregiver status. Adults between 20-40 years of age experienced the highest rate of job loss and reduction in wages (33%) as a result of the pandemic, while adults aged >70 years experienced the lowest rate (12.5%). However, adults aged 50-60 and 60-70 also experienced relatively high levels of job loss at (28.4% and 25.7%, respectively). Behavior changes and disruptions to typical routines to avoid COVID-19 infections may have contributed to job and personal income loss amongst Individuals aged 50-60 and 60-70. However, these findings suggest potentially high levels of economic insecurity amongst individuals who continue to work into late-life. These results may help policymakers understand how to better tailor interventions and policies to mitigate economic insecurity, particularly for populations disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

Quantifying the nutritional and income loss due to crop raiding in rural African subsistence farming community in South Africa

Globally, crop damage by wildlife contributes to food insecurity through direct loss of food and income. We investigated the calories lost and potential economic impact of crop raiding to subsistence homesteads abutting the Hluhluwe Game Reserve and assessed their mitigation measures to combat crop raiding. We quantified the seasonal loss of calories (KJ/g) of four common crops: beetroot (Beta vulgaris), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize (Zea mays) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and determined seasonal potential income loss based on local market cost of crops. Experimental data used for this study were collected from April 2016-March 2017 and questionnaire data were collected in March 2016, using a stratified sampling approach to sample the homesteads. We selected every second homestead for the interview and restricted the survey to one respondent per homestead to avoid pseudo-replication of results. In the one year of sampling, we did not record any large mammals crop raiding, both from direct observations and camera trap footage, we also did not find a statistically significant relationship between the level of damage and distance of farms from the reserve boundary. Throughout the study, we captured a total of 96 individual rodents comprising of two species: red bush rat (Aethomys spp.; 67.7%; 51 males and 28 females) and pouched mouse (Saccostomus campestris; 32.3% (14 females and three males ) and we used the damage caused by these animals and other small animals to quantify the level of damage. We found that season, crop type, farm slope and the interaction between season and crop type were significant predictors of relative calorie loss. Again, season, crop type and the interaction between season and crop type were significant predictors of the potential income loss, with the highest income loss recorded for spinach in the dry season. In addition, significant differences were found for potential income loss for all crop types in the wet season, and for the interaction between crop types maize, spinach and the wet season, but no significant difference was found for crop type common bean and the wet season. A multinomial regression analysis revealed that crop raiding animal type, crop types raided and distance of farms from the reserve all had a significant effect on the choice of mitigation measures farmers used. Most importantly we found the highest relative calorie loss for maize during the dry season, which could impact on subsistence farmers by reducing their daily calorie intake and impact on their food security especially during the season where subsistence farming is slow. Moreover, as the most preferred mitigation measure by farmers can have opportunity costs to this community, such as the loss of school time for children. These results have important implications for food security policies and socially related policies and practices.