Dataset Information

Nationally representative social contact patterns among U.S. adults, August 2020-April 2021.

ABSTRACT: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S prompted abrupt and dramatic changes to social contact patterns. Monitoring changing social behavior is essential to provide reliable input data for mechanistic models of infectious disease, which have been increasingly used to support public health policy to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. While some studies have reported on changing contact patterns throughout the pandemic, few have reported differences in contact patterns among key demographic groups and none have reported nationally representative estimates. We conducted a national probability survey of US households and collected information on social contact patterns during two time periods: August-December 2020 (before widespread vaccine availability) and March-April 2021 (during national vaccine rollout). Overall, contact rates in Spring 2021 were similar to those in Fall 2020, with most contacts reported at work. Persons identifying as non-White, non-Black, non-Asian, and non-Hispanic reported high numbers of contacts relative to other racial and ethnic groups. Contact rates were highest in those reporting occupations in retail, hospitality and food service, and transportation. Those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies reported a higher number of daily contacts than those who were seronegative. Our findings provide evidence for differences in social behavior among demographic groups, highlighting the profound disparities that have become the hallmark of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Nelson KN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9242729 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesTo analyse associations between living in social housing and smoking in England and to evaluate progress towards reducing disparities in smoking prevalence among residents of social housing compared with other housing types.DesignCross-sectional analysis of nationally representative data collected between January 2015 and February 2020.SettingEngland.Participants105 562 adults (≥16 years).Primary and secondary outcome measuresLinear and logistic regression were used to analyse associations between living in social housing (vs other housing types) and smoking status, cigarettes per day, time to first cigarette, exposure to others' smoking, motivation to stop smoking, quit attempts and use of cessation support. Analyses were adjusted for sex, age, social grade, region and year.ResultsAdults living in social housing had two times the odds of being a smoker (ORadj=2.17, 95% CI 2.08 to 2.27), and the decline in smoking prevalence between 2015 and 2020 was less pronounced in this high-risk group (-7%; ORadj=0.98, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.01) than among adults living in other housing types (-24%; ORadj=0.95, 95% CI 0.94 to 0.96; housing tenure-survey year interaction p=0.020). Smokers living in social housing were more addicted than those in other housing types (smoking within 30 min of waking: ORadj=1.50, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.61), but were no less motivated to stop smoking (ORadj=1.06, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.17) and had higher odds of having made a serious attempt to quit in the past year (ORadj=1.16, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.25). Among smokers who had tried to quit, those living in social housing had higher odds of using evidence-based cessation support (ORadj=1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.39) but lower odds of remaining abstinent (ORadj=0.63, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.76).ConclusionsThere remain stark inequalities in smoking and quitting behaviour by housing tenure in England, with declines in prevalence stalling between 2015 and 2020 despite progress in the rest of the population. In the absence of targeted interventions to boost quitting among social housing residents, inequalities in health are likely to worsen.

Dataset Information

Nationally representative social contact patterns among U.S. adults, August 2020-April 2021.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets