HealthGuard: Health and Preventive Medicine Research
The Role of Socioeconomic, Sociodemographic, Weather, and Health Factors in Influencing Covid-19 Cases and Deaths in Oklahoma
Abstract
Amune Ofuje Blessing
Current research on COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of analyzing the relationship between various risks factors that may contribute to the proliferation of COVID-19 cases and deaths in some areas than others. The aim of this study is to identify the various risk factors that may have contributed to the geographical distribution COVID-19 cases and deaths in Oklahoma. The results of the study could help provide targeted interventions and policies that could address the needs of communities and help provide more effective control of the virus.
Two major methods were used to analyze the data, MGWR and ZINB model. The MGWR was used to analyze the COVID-19 cases and the ZINB was used to analyze the COVID-19 deaths. The result of the study suggests that “those with health conditions, humidity and no solar radiation, those with poor economic condition, and non-English speaking young Hispanics, had significant association with COVID-19 case in Oklahoma but in varied location. For COVID-19 deaths, only those with health conditions, humidity and no solar radiation, and those with poor economic condition, had significant association with COVID-19 deaths. The results of the study can be useful to policy makers and healthcare providers in understanding regional differences when making policies as well as understanding the importance of applying local policies as a better strategy to addressing health related problems.