skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study Finds Racial Disparities Among COVID Hospitalizations

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 18, 2020   

MINNEAPOLIS -- A new study reinforces data that show minority groups are disproportionately affected by the spread of the coronavirus. The latest research looked at hospitalization rates in 12 states, including Minnesota.

The study was led by Professor Pinar Karaca-Mandic at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. She said in the states that were examined, Black residents were hospitalized for COVID-19 at rates well above their share of the population.

She said because the rate of testing doesn't tell the whole story when it comes to overall infections, hospitalizations are a more reliable way to identify racial gaps.

"It does provide us a more objective view of the impact and the severity of the disease," Karaca-Mandic said. "We're also able to figure out are there differences in people who are experiencing this disease in a severe way that they also show up in the hospitals."

In Minnesota, the study found Black residents made up nearly 25% of hospitalizations, while only accounting for around 7% of the state's population. Researchers say they found similar results for Latinx and Native American residents in most of the states that were part of the study. White residents were hospitalized at a lower rate relative to their share of the population.

The researchers say a more complete racial background of COVID-19 hospitalization cases is hard to come by in many parts of the country. And Karaca-Mandic said their findings underscore the need for other states to provide this information.

"To fully understand the picture and to design effective solutions - and again, these solutions will need to vary by different states - we need this kind of data from all 50 states," she said.

The study doesn't offer a contributing factor for the higher rates for these racial groups. But Karaca-Mandic and others suspect health care access issues and underlying health conditions play a significant role. Researchers have also noted that people of color are disproportionately represented in the service industry, jobs which can carry an increased risk of exposure to the virus.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021