Prejudicial beliefs and COVID-19 disruptions among sexual minority men living with and not living with HIV in a high SARS-CoV-2 prevalence area

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound health and social impacts. COVID-19 also affords opportunities to study the emergence of prejudice as a factor in taking protective actions. This study investigated the association of COVID-19 concerns, prejudicial beliefs, and personal actions that involve life disruptions among people not living with and people living with HIV. 338 Black/African American men not living with HIV who reported male sex partners and 148 Black/African American men living with HIV who reported male sex partners completed a confidential survey that measured COVID-19 concern, COVID-19 prejudice, and personal action and institutionally imposed COVID-19 disruptions. Participants reported having experienced multiple social and healthcare disruptions stemming from COVID-19, including reductions in social contacts, canceling medical appointments, and inability to access medications. Mediation analyses demonstrated that COVID-19 concerns and COVID-19 prejudice were associated with personal action disruptions, indicating that these social processes are important for understanding how individuals modified their lives in response to COVID-19. It is imperative that public health efforts combat COVID-19 prejudice as these beliefs undermine investments in developing healthcare infrastructure to address COVID-19 prevention.

Unprecedented disruption of lives and work: Health, distress and life satisfaction of working adults in China one month into the COVID-19 outbreak

We assess the health and wellbeing of normal adults living and working after one month of confinement to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in China. On Feb 20-21, 2020, we surveyed 369 adults in 64 cities in China that varied in their rates of confirmed coronavirus cases on their health conditions, distress and life satisfaction. 27% of the participants worked at the office, 38% resorted to working from home, and 25% stopped working due to the outbreak. Those who stopped working reported worse mental and physical health conditions as well as distress. The severity of COVID-19 in an individual's home city predicts their life satisfaction, and this relationship is contingent upon individuals' existing chronic health issues and their hours of exercise. Our evidence supports the need to pay attention to the health of people who were not infected by the virus, especially for people who stopped working during the outbreak. Our results highlight that physically active people might be more susceptible to wellbeing issues during the lockdown. Policymakers who are considering introducing restrictive measures to contain COVID-19 may benefit from understanding such health and wellbeing implications.