Page 35 - MJHP MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION Volume 2, 2020

MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH PROMOTION Volume 2, 2020

and/or transmission. Members of EMGs may be more likely to live in
densely populated areas because of institutional racism in the form of
residential housing segregation. People living in densely populated areas
may find it more difficult to practice prevention measures such as social
distancing. Also, many members of EMGs live in neighbourhoods that
are farther from grocery stores and medical facilities, making it more
difficult to receive care if sick and stock up on supplies that would allow
them to stay home. Another point to highlight is that EMGs are also over-
represented in jails, prisons, and detention centres, which have specific
risks of COVID-19 due to congregate living, shared food service and
many more (Rubin, 2020).

4.3 Work Circumstances
The types of work and policies in the work environments where people
in some racial and EMGs are overrepresented can also contribute to their
risk for being infected with COVID-19 (Lan et al., 2020). The risk of
infection may be greater for workers in essential industries who continue
to work outside the home despite outbreaks in their communities,
including some people who may need to continue working in these jobs
because of their economic circumstances. Workers without paid sick
leave might be more likely to continue to work even when they are sick
for any reason. This can increase workers’ exposure to other workers
who may have COVID-19, or, in turn, expose others if they themselves
have COVID-19 (Dutta et al., 2020). In contrast, a study by Millett et
al. (2020), suggests that higher-level of unemployment was associated
with fewer COVID-19 diagnoses. Employment presumably increases
the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, and this might differentially
impact black Americans because only one in five black Americans has
an occupation that permits working from home.

4.4 Underlying Health Conditions and Lower Access to Care
This review also found existing health inequalities, such as poorer
underlying health and barriers to getting health care, might make
members of many EMGs vulnerable in COVID-19 (Clark et al., 2020).
Besides that, insufficient access is also driven by a long-standing distrust
of the health care system, language barriers, and financial implications
associated with missing work to receive care. Further, not having health
or medical insurance may also contribute to the issue.

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