Variation in Risk of COVID-19 Infection and Predictors of Social Determinants of Health in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Abstract

Miami-Dade County zip code-level (N = 91 zip codes) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases (N = 89,556 as of July 21, 2020) reported from the Florida Department of Health were used to estimate rates of COVID-19 per 1,000 population at the census block group level (N = 1,594 study block groups). To identify associations between rates of COVID-19 infections and multidimensional indexes of social determinants of health (SDOH) across Miami-Dade County, Florida, I applied a global model (ordinary least squares) and a local regression model (geographically weighted regression). Findings indicated that a social disadvant- age index positively affected COVID-19 infection rates, whereas a socioeconomic status and opportunity index and a convergence of vulnerability index had an inverse but significant connection to COVID-19 infection rates over the study area. Rates of COVID-19 infections were localized to specific geographic areas and ranged from 0 to 60.75 per 1,000 population per square mile.