Overview of the SBE Research Initiative
NIH’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Health Impacts of COVID-19 in Vulnerable and Health Disparity Population initiative aims to support research that lessens the impacts of COVID-19 and addresses health needs in the hardest-hit communities. The focus is on the direct effects of mitigation efforts; the indirect effects of economic sequalae of the pandemic; the role and effects on healthcare access and health outcomes; and the effects of scalable interventions in reducing these impacts.
Public health interventions to contain and mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have substantial effects on virus transmission but also impact social and economic activity. The pandemic and related mitigation efforts also impact other areas of health and health care use. These efforts have had a profound impact on social and economic activity and can be expected to exacerbate existing social, economic, and health inequities and disproportionately impact racial/ethnic minorities, less privileged SES, and other vulnerable populations who already experience health disparities.
Through the SBE COVID-19 initiative, NIH is funding research to understand and improve health for populations that experience health disparities and other vulnerable groups through three interrelated goals:
- Improve prediction of various mitigation efforts on transmission reduction and on social and economic impacts, by leveraging and augmenting existing surveys, cohort studies, and research networks.
- Assess the downstream health and healthcare access effects from the economic downturn through comprehensive analysis of a wide range of available data sources.
- Develop scalable interventions to improve COVID-19 mitigation strategies and address secondary health impacts of the pandemic.
SBE COVID-19 research to understand and address mitigation and health impacts will improve the response to the current pandemic and prepare for future health emergencies.
Who is included?
- Research participants across the lifespan are considered high-risk or vulnerable to COVID-19 and other effects of the pandemic.
- Key populations of interest include NIH-designated health disparity and other populations with medical or social vulnerabilities, including, but not limited to residents of chronic care facilities, community-dwelling older adults, pregnant women, children, persons with cognitive impairment or dementia, homeless, incarcerated or involved with the criminal justice system, and those experiencing substance use disorder or severe mental illness, with visual, hearing, communication, or mobility impairment, and the uninsured. Pandemic-associated vulnerable groups include medical personnel with direct patient care, other support staff, home health aides, family and informal caregivers; emergency responders; and frontline workers in essential businesses or services.
Why is this research important?
The efforts to contain and stop the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted many people’s daily lives, their finances, and access to health care—especially for people who were already at risk. Researchers are studying the many ways COVID-19 affects our lives and health in order to help everyone better handle the COVID-19 pandemic. The intended outcome is to help us better assess the benefits and risks of various pandemic and mitigation actions such as stay-at-home orders, limiting health care services, and closing non-essential businesses. These findings will help us reduce and address the impacts of today’s pandemic, while also preparing for the next public health emergency.