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Citation

Edwards, Jessie K. & Wohl, David A. (2022). Dying at Home Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 9(9), ofac439. PMCID: PMC9472664

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a leading cause of US deaths and when severe requires admission to a hospital; however, 9% of US COVID-19 deaths before 2022 occurred at home. Death certificate data were used to examine the cumulative probability of dying at home from COVID-19 and from any cause in North Carolina, including by race and ethnicity. Between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, 22 646 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in North Carolina; of these, 1771 (7.8%) occurred at home. Cumulative risk of dying at home with COVID-19 increased from 3.3/100 000 on December 31, 2020 to 13.0/100 000 on December 31, 2021. After standardizing each racial/ethnic group, cumulative at-home COVID-19 mortality among Hispanic people compared to White people was 9.9/100 000 versus 2.3/100 000, respectively, at year-end 2020 (difference, 7.6/100 000; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6–9.6) and 19.0/100 000 versus 11.4/100 000 at year-end 2021 (difference, 7.6; 95% CI, 4.9–10.4). At-home mortality among Black people was also elevated compared to White people (difference, 5.6/100 000; 95% CI, 3.7–7.4) at year-end 2021. Rates of dying at home from any cause increased overall but were greatest among Hispanic people.By the end of 2021, the risk of dying at home from COVID-19 increased, especially for persons of color. The risk of dying at-home from any cause also increased for all but more so for Hispanic persons. These findings suggest perennial barriers to care prevent those with progressive COVID-19 from accessing medical attention and the need for initiatives that extend healthcare access for those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 to prevent avoidable death.

URL

https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac439

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2022

Journal Title

Open Forum Infectious Diseases

Author(s)

Edwards, Jessie K.
Wohl, David A.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC9472664

Continent/Country

United States of America

State

North Carolina

Race/Ethnicity

Black
White
Hispanic/Latinx
Native American
Asian

ORCiD

Edwards, J -0000-0002-1741-335X