Uneven Burdens: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Across Urban and Rural Georgia
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Kevin Gittner
Department
WCHHS – Social Work and Human Services
Abstract
This study examines COVID-19 hospitalization patterns across all 159 Georgia counties during 2022, a year when this pandemic was still new to healthcare systems that were still adjusting to new variants and changing public health strategies. The researchers used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to analyze 79,757 COVID-19 cases, grouping them by four age categories (0 to 17, 18 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 plus years) to better understand how age and location affected hospitalization rates. The main research question asks: How do age and county location influence COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Georgia's different types of communities during 2022?
The dataset covers all twelve months of 2022, including the January spike from the Omicron variant. This data set shows that adults aged 18 to 49 made up the biggest share of cases, but how many people landed in the hospital varied quite a bit between age groups. There are also clear differences between urban counties like Fulton and rural ones like Lumpkin, pointing to gaps in healthcare access. The researchers expect to find that older adults (50 to 64 and 65 plus) had much higher hospitalization rates than younger people, with rural and urban areas showing different patterns based on their healthcare systems. The findings should help identify which age groups and counties faced the heaviest burden. This information can help Georgia's public health officials decide where to send resources, plan for emergencies, and create programs for at-risk populations. The study adds to what we know about how southeastern states handled the pandemic. Our future work could look at vaccination rates as well as comparing and contrasting different counties, and study how existing health problems affected outcomes. Overall, this research offers guidance for future and current public health officials by using this health emergency.
Disciplines
COVID-19 | Medicine and Health Sciences | Public Health
Uneven Burdens: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Across Urban and Rural Georgia
This study examines COVID-19 hospitalization patterns across all 159 Georgia counties during 2022, a year when this pandemic was still new to healthcare systems that were still adjusting to new variants and changing public health strategies. The researchers used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to analyze 79,757 COVID-19 cases, grouping them by four age categories (0 to 17, 18 to 49, 50 to 64, and 65 plus years) to better understand how age and location affected hospitalization rates. The main research question asks: How do age and county location influence COVID-19 hospitalization rates across Georgia's different types of communities during 2022?
The dataset covers all twelve months of 2022, including the January spike from the Omicron variant. This data set shows that adults aged 18 to 49 made up the biggest share of cases, but how many people landed in the hospital varied quite a bit between age groups. There are also clear differences between urban counties like Fulton and rural ones like Lumpkin, pointing to gaps in healthcare access. The researchers expect to find that older adults (50 to 64 and 65 plus) had much higher hospitalization rates than younger people, with rural and urban areas showing different patterns based on their healthcare systems. The findings should help identify which age groups and counties faced the heaviest burden. This information can help Georgia's public health officials decide where to send resources, plan for emergencies, and create programs for at-risk populations. The study adds to what we know about how southeastern states handled the pandemic. Our future work could look at vaccination rates as well as comparing and contrasting different counties, and study how existing health problems affected outcomes. Overall, this research offers guidance for future and current public health officials by using this health emergency.