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The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hamad, R; Lyman, KA; Lin, F; Modrow, MF; Ozluk, P; Azar, KMJ; Goodin, A; Isasi, CR; Kitzman, HE; Knight, SJ; Marcus, GM; McMahill-Walraven, CN ...
Published in: BMC Public Health
October 10, 2022

BACKGROUND: It is increasingly recognized that policies have played a role in both alleviating and exacerbating the health and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been limited systematic evaluation of variation in U.S. local COVID-19-related policies. This study introduces the U.S. COVID-19 County Policy (UCCP) Database, whose objective is to systematically gather, characterize, and assess variation in U.S. county-level COVID-19-related policies. METHODS: In January-March 2021, we collected an initial wave of cross-sectional data from government and media websites for 171 counties in 7 states on 22 county-level COVID-19-related policies within 3 policy domains that are likely to affect health: (1) containment/closure, (2) economic support, and (3) public health. We characterized the presence and comprehensiveness of policies using univariate analyses. We also examined the correlation of policies with one another using bivariate Spearman's correlations. Finally, we examined geographical variation in policies across and within states. RESULTS: There was substantial variation in the presence and comprehensiveness of county policies during January-March 2021. For containment and closure policies, the percent of counties with no restrictions ranged from 0% (for public events) to more than half for public transportation (67.8%), hair salons (52.6%), and religious gatherings (52.0%). For economic policies, 76.6% of counties had housing support, while 64.9% had utility relief. For public health policies, most were comprehensive, with 70.8% of counties having coordinated public information campaigns, and 66.7% requiring masks outside the home at all times. Correlations between containment and closure policies tended to be positive and moderate (i.e., coefficients 0.4-0.59). There was variation within and across states in the number and comprehensiveness of policies. CONCLUSIONS: This study introduces the UCCP Database, presenting granular data on local governments' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We documented substantial variation within and across states on a wide range of policies at a single point in time. By making these data publicly available, this study supports future research that can leverage this database to examine how policies contributed to and continue to influence pandemic-related health and socioeconomic outcomes and disparities. The UCCP database is available online and will include additional time points for 2020-2021 and additional counties nationwide.

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Published In

BMC Public Health

DOI

EISSN

1471-2458

Publication Date

October 10, 2022

Volume

22

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1882

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Public Health
  • Public Health
  • Policy
  • Pandemics
  • Humans
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • COVID-19
  • 4206 Public health
  • 4203 Health services and systems
 

Citation

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Hamad, R., Lyman, K. A., Lin, F., Modrow, M. F., Ozluk, P., Azar, K. M. J., … Carton, T. (2022). The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1882. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14132-6
Hamad, Rita, Kristin A. Lyman, Feng Lin, Madelaine F. Modrow, Pelin Ozluk, Kristen M. J. Azar, Amie Goodin, et al. “The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research.BMC Public Health 22, no. 1 (October 10, 2022): 1882. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14132-6.
Hamad R, Lyman KA, Lin F, Modrow MF, Ozluk P, Azar KMJ, et al. The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research. BMC Public Health. 2022 Oct 10;22(1):1882.
Hamad, Rita, et al. “The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research.BMC Public Health, vol. 22, no. 1, Oct. 2022, p. 1882. Pubmed, doi:10.1186/s12889-022-14132-6.
Hamad R, Lyman KA, Lin F, Modrow MF, Ozluk P, Azar KMJ, Goodin A, Isasi CR, Kitzman HE, Knight SJ, Marcus GM, McMahill-Walraven CN, Meissner P, Nair V, O’Brien EC, Olgin JE, Peyser ND, Sylwestrzak G, Williams N, Pletcher MJ, Carton T. The U.S. COVID-19 County Policy Database: a novel resource to support pandemic-related research. BMC Public Health. 2022 Oct 10;22(1):1882.
Journal cover image

Published In

BMC Public Health

DOI

EISSN

1471-2458

Publication Date

October 10, 2022

Volume

22

Issue

1

Start / End Page

1882

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Public Health
  • Public Health
  • Policy
  • Pandemics
  • Humans
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • COVID-19
  • 4206 Public health
  • 4203 Health services and systems