An analysis of the impact of policies and political affiliation on racial disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths in the USA

Michael A Hamilton; Danielle Hamilton; Oluwatamilore Soneye; Olorunshola Ayeyemi; Raed Jaradat

doi:10.1007/s41060-021-00284-y

An analysis of the impact of policies and political affiliation on racial disparities in COVID-19 infections and deaths in the USA

Int J Data Sci Anal. 2022;13(1):63-76. doi: 10.1007/s41060-021-00284-y. Epub 2021 Sep 24.

Authors

Michael A Hamilton¹, Danielle Hamilton², Oluwatamilore Soneye¹, Olorunshola Ayeyemi¹, Raed Jaradat³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC USA.
² Hamilton Digital Studios LLC, Greensboro, NC USA.
³ Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS USA.

Abstract

This research aimed to quantify the racial disparities of COVID-19 for primarily positive tests and deaths across the US and territories individually and collectively. The first research hypothesis investigated whether positive cases and death rates were higher for people of color (POC) than the White ethnic group. The second hypothesis examined whether there is a significant difference in confirmed positive cases and death rates between ethnic groups across the US and territories. The third hypothesis investigated if political party control and governmental policies affected the number of cases and death proportion rates across ethnic groups. The research findings suggest that POC positive cases and death rates were higher in some states. Black ethnic groups were dying at a high rate in the southeastern states, the District of Columbia, and in Maryland. Specifically, in the District of Columbia, the death rate is five times higher than the White ethnic group. For Latinx ethnic groups, the high cases and death rates have mostly occurred in western states, including Texas. The Latinx ethnic group accounted for half the total deaths in Texas and California. The Latinx ethnic group death rate is higher than the White ethnic group in four states: Texas, California, New Mexico, and the District of Columbia. The research findings also show that the rate of deaths and cases per ethnic group for policies and political factors were significant except for the mask mandate policy. Based on the analyzed data, mask mandates were not a factor in the cases or death rates of any ethnic group. Each state's policies for bars, curfews, public schools, and travel-along with legislative party control-had the most influences across ethnic groups. The research results for the death rates and number of cases due to these implemented policies varied between ethnic groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; Death rates; Ethnical disparities; Infection rates; Policy; Political.