Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Statewide survey could map how COVID-19 is affecting food security, economics

A map of King County shows the rates of positive cases of COVID-19 by location. A statewide survey aims to add data and influence policy on food and economic security.
Public Health — Seattle & King County
A map of King County shows the rates of positive cases of COVID-19 by location. A statewide survey aims to add data and influence policy on food and economic security.

How hard you’re hit by the coronavirus pandemic could be determined by your ZIP code. That’s according to researchers looking into how the outbreak has impacted the economic and food security of people in  Washington state.  

Adam Drewnowski, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, has mapped things like obesity, diabetes and heart disease in prior work — down to the ZIP code and census block.He found poorer areas tend to have unhealthier diets and higher rates of disease.

He and his colleague, Jennifer Otten, recently compared those maps to ones that showed where COVID-19 is hitting hardest.

We never thought back in the day that the ZIP code could also determine your susceptibility to an infectious disease. Andyet it can,” Drewnowski said. “So this all goes back to social disparities and the resources that people have and do not have.”   

So, they have launched a statewide surveyin cooperation with researchers at Washington State University and Tacoma Community College, as well as partners in local, county and state governments.

They’re asking people about their employment situation, shopping habits and food security since the pandemic began. The data will be correlated by ZIP code and county.

“This has major implications on resilience and who will suffer and who will come out okay,” Drewnowski said. “We want to make sure that there is information available to state and local authorities and to policymakers, about people who are suffering the most.”

They’ll close the first round of surveys at the end of July and hope their results will inform policy decisions for recovery from the effects of COVID-19. Anyone in the state can take part viathis link.

Tags
News Coronavirus CoverageCOVID-19coronavirus
Bellamy Pailthorp covers the environment for KNKX with an emphasis on climate justice, human health and food sovereignty. She enjoys reporting about how we will power our future while maintaining healthy cultures and livable cities. Story tips can be sent to bpailthorp@knkx.org.