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Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of 2,845 working adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, April 2020

From: Employment conditions as barriers to the adoption of COVID-19 mitigation measures: how the COVID-19 pandemic may be deepening health disparities among low-income earners and essential workers in the United States

Essential worker

 

Total

(n = 2845)

No

(n = 1027)

Yes

(n = 1818)

p-valuea

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Female, n (%)

1585 (55.7)

641 (62.4)

944 (51.9)

<0.001

Age group, n (%)

   

0.014

 18-39

566 (19.9)

234 (22.8)

332 (18.3)

 

 40-59

1607 (56.5)

562 (54.7)

1045 (57.5)

 

 60+

672 (23.6)

231 (22.5)

441 (24.3)

 

White race, n (%)

2647 (93.0)

939 (91.4)

1708 (93.9)

0.011

Some college or less, n (%)

1127 (39.6)

200 (19.5)

927 (51.0)

<0.001

Married/partnered, n (%)

2099 (73.8)

780 (75.9)

1312 (72.3)

0.048

Residence type, n (%)

   

<0.001

 Rural

830 (29.2)

241 (23.5)

589 (32.4)

 

 Suburban

1584 (55.7)

615 (59.9)

969 (53.3)

 

 Urban

431 (15.1)

171 (16.7)

260 (14.3)

 

U.S. Region, n (%)

   

0.262

 Northeast

793 (27.9)

299 (29.1)

494 (27.2)

 

 Midwest

771 (27.1)

257 (25.0)

514 (28.3)

 

 South

747 (26.3)

270 (26.3)

477 (26.2)

 

 West

534 (18.8)

201 (19.6)

333 (18.3)

 

ECONOMIC PRECARITY

Annual household income, n (%)

   

<0.001

 90,000 and over

1215 (42.7)

533 (51.9)

682 (37.5)

 

 50,000-<90,000

759 (26.7)

253 (24.6)

506 (27.8)

 

 <50,000

537 (18.9)

124 (12.1)

413 (22.7)

 

Variable income, n (%)

1563 (54.9)

346 (33.7)

1217 (66.9)

<0.001

Employer does not offer paid sick leave, n (%)

701 (24.6)

149 (14.5)

552 (30.4)

<0.001

No health insurance, n (%)

139 (4.9)

35 (3.4)

104 (5.7)

0.006

Lost income due to COVID-19, n (%)

1116 (39.2)

354 (34.5)

762 (41.9)

<0.001

Is food insecure, n (%)

349 (12.3)

77 (7.5)

272 (15.0)

<0.001

KNOWLEDGE

 Stopping going to school/work protective, n (%)

2357 (82.8)

935 (91.0)

1422 (78.2)

<0.001

 Washing hands frequently with soap and water protective, n (%)

2837 (99.7)

1026 (99.9)

1811 (99.6)

0.153

COVID-19 THREAT PERCEPTION

 Perceived risk, M (SD)

5.2 (0.2)

5.1 (0.5)

5.2 (0.3)

0.134

 Perceived severity, M (SD)

5.5 (0.2)

5.6 (0.5)

5.4 (0.3)

0.006

SELF-EFFICACY

 Can't afford to quarantine, n (%)

821 (28.9)

153 (14.9)

668 (36.7)

<0.001

ENDORSED PREVENTIVE BEHAVIORS

 Avoided leaving home, n (%)

2180 (76.6)

904 (88.0)

1276 (70.2)

<0.001

 More hand-sanitizer use and/or hand-washing, n (%)

2639 (92.8)

1004 (97.8)

1635 (89.9)

<0.001

 Cleaned/disinfected more, n (%)

977 (34.3)

350 (34.1)

627 (34.5)

0.826

 Avoided seeking medical care, n (%)

1827 (64.2)

726 (70.7)

1101 (60.6)

<0.001

  1. ap-values calculated based on Pearson’s chi-squared tests for proportions or t-tests for mean differences. Fishers’ exact was used when any cell had n < 15. Some columns may not add to 100% due to rounding