Table 1.
Adjusted association between county-level social capital and COVID-19 cases and deaths per 100,000 population
| %Change in number of cases per 100,000 population (95% CI) | P-value | %Change in number of deaths per 100,000 population (95% CI) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRFSS Index (social/emotional support) | −1.9% (−2.8% to −1.0%) | <.001 | −2.7% (−4.4% to −1.0%) | .002 |
| PSCI (% of population hired at voluntary organizations) | −3.0% (−11.4% to +6.2%) | .51 | −15.5% (−29.1% to +0.6%) | .06 |
| PSU-SC Index | +0.5% (−4.2% to +5.5%) | .83 | −2.4% (−9.7% to +5.6%) | .55 |
| Membership organizations* (per 1,000 population) | +5.3% (−1.8% to +13.0%) | .15 | −4.9% (−18.3% to +10.5%) | .51 |
| Voter turnout in presidential elections (%) | +0.2% (−0.5% to +0.9%) | .63 | +1.8% (+0.3% to +3.3%) | .02 |
| Response rate to the Census Bureau's decennial census (%) | −0.4% (−0.8% to +0.1%) | .13 | +0.4% (−0.6% to +1.3%) | .45 |
| Non-profit organizations (per 1,000 population) | −0.8% (−1.9% to +0.2%) | .13 | −0.8% (−2.3% to +0.7%) | .27 |
The number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in US counties as of June 30, 2020.
Adjusted for county-level median household income, percent poverty, unemployment, female, 65+ years, and uninsured, mean household size, urbanicity, air quality, health outcome quartile, total physicians and hospital beds per 100,000 population, presence of a stay-at-home policy, number of days from the first county-reported COVID-19 case, the percent of vote share won by Donald Trump in 2016 US Presidential election, and state fixed effects (effectively comparing counties within the same state).
The BRFSS Index is defined as the percentage of respondents reporting availability of adequate social/emotional support calculated using BRFSS data from 2005 to 2010 based on the County Health Rankings, 2014. The PSCI is calculated based on the number of employees hired at voluntary organizations (based on the County Business Pattern dataset, 2018) divided by the total population of the county. The PSU-SC Index is a composite score of civic engagement comprised of the number of membership organizations per 1,000 population, voting rate in presidential elections, the response rate to the Census Bureau’s decennial census, and the number of non-profit organizations per 10,000 population.
*A composite measure calculated based on the number of establishments in religious organizations, civic and social associations, business associations, political organizations, professional organizations, labor organization, bowling center, fitness and recreational sports centers, golf courses and country clubs, and sports teams and clubs, divided by the total population of the county.