OBJECTIVES: SDOH are non-medical factors (e.g., socio-economic status) that influence health outcomes (WHO, 2021). Eriksson et al. (2017) research shows the negative impact on hospital capacity strain on health outcomes (e.g., mortality). This research explores the correlation of SDOHs on hospital capacity and strain from COVID-19 and the association on health. Understanding the impact of SDOHs is vital to improving overall health in the US.

METHODS: Publicly available data from U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning COVID-19 patient impact and hospital capacity between 07/31/2020-12/10/2021 was merged with National Neighborhood Data Archive data (e.g., race, education, household income) by matched ZIP5. Correlations were identified through Kendall’s correlation coefficient analysis.

RESULTS: Over 200,000 observations were collected from public datasets and then analyzed. All Kendall’s correlation coefficients reported are statistically significant (p<0.005).

• Completing some HS or some college is negatively correlated with inpatient / ICU capacity (unused inpatient / ICU beds) (-0.0373, -0.0711; -0.1149, -0.2256), and some HS is positively correlated with hospital capacity strain (the proportion of total beds used by hospitalized COVID-19 patients) (.0087). College completion is positively correlated with inpatient / ICU capacity (0.0876, 0.1804)
• Inpatient / ICU capacity is negatively correlated with a household income <100K (<30K: -0.0164, -0.0435; 30-50K: -0.0568, -0.1176; 50-100K: -0.0856, -0.1404) and with public assistance (-0.0089, -0.0212), and there is a positive correlation between inpatient / ICU capacity and income ≥$100K (0.0451, 0.0933)
• Further significant correlations with other SDOH variables (e.g., race, unemployment) are not reported here that would be included in the full poster

CONCLUSIONS: Statistically significant relationships between SDOH variables and hospital capacity imply that decreased hospital capacity negatively impacts people with certain SDOHs and that COVID-19 has strained these geographic areas more. Addressing hospital capacity in areas with higher prevalence of SDOH variables may improve patient health outcomes.