Spatial and Social Disparities in Exposure to COVID-19
Dr. Chakraborty is leading two different research projects that focus on social inequalities in the distribution and impacts of COVID-19.
The first project examines unequal exposure to COVID-19 for people with disabilities in the U.S. This project is supported by a National Fellowship for Advancing COVID-19 Research and Education from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Geospatial Software Institute (GSI). He was one of 16 Fellows selected through a national competition organized by the NSF GSI Conceptualization Project, in collaboration with several organizations such as the American Association of Geographers and University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. The Cyber Geographic Information Systems Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will provide technical support for these projects. A list of Geospatial Fellows and their project summaries is available here. Dr. Chakraborty’s project focuses on investigating whether people with disabilities and socially disadvantaged people with disabilities, in particular, are overrepresented in communities with higher COVID-19 prevalence. A brief project summary can be found here.
The second project focuses on identifying the characteristics of places and people at the convergence of COVID-19 and chronic air pollution risks. Preliminary findings suggest that African-American, socioeconomically deprived, and uninsured residents are significantly overrepresented in U.S. counties where significantly greater COVID-19 prevalence coincides with higher respiratory risks from outdoor exposure to hazardous air pollutants.
These COVID-related projects have resulted in the following publications, presentations, and web-based applications:
JOURNAL ARTICLES/BOOK CHAPTERS:
- Chakraborty J, 2021. COVID-19 and People with Disabilities: Social Inequalities in the Distribution of Pandemic Vulnerability. In Carey A, Green S, and Mauldin L (eds.) Research in Social Sciences and Disability: Disability in the Time of Pandemic. Emerald Press: Bingley, UK [in press].
- Chakraborty J, 2021. Vulnerability to the COVID-19 Pandemic for People with Disabilities in the U.S. Disabilities, 1(3), 278-285; DOI: 10.3390/disabilities1030020.
- Chakraborty J. 2021. Convergence of COVID-19 and Chronic Air Pollution Risks: Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Inequities in the U.S. Environmental Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110586.
- Chakraborty J. 2021. Social Inequities in the Distribution of COVID-19: An Intra-Categorical Analysis of People with Disabilities in the U.S. Disability and Health Journal DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.101007.
INVITED TALKS:
- Vulnerability to COVID-19 for People with Disabilities: Spatial and Social Inequalities in the U.S. Geospatial Fellows Webinar Series, American Association of Geographers; June.
- COVID-19 and People with Disabilities: Exploring Spatial Associations and Social Disparities in the U.S. GEOMED International Webinar; May.
- Unequal Exposure to COVID-19 for People with Disabilities COVID-19 and Social Inequality Discussion Forum, University of Texas at El Paso (El Paso TX); November.
ONLINE PUBLICATIONS:
- Chakraborty J and Salas K. Developing a Disability Vulnerability Dashboard. CyberGISX: Featured Blog Posts. Available at: https://cybergisxhub.cigi.illinois.edu/blog/developing-a-disability-vulnerability-dashboard/
- Chakraborty J and Salas K. Disability Vulnerability Dashboard. Available at: https://tinyurl.com/SEGALabDVD.
- Chakraborty, J. COVID-19 and People with Disabiities. CyberGISX: Featured Blog Posts. Available at: https://cybergisxhub.cigi.illinois.edu/blog/covid-19-and-people-with-disabilities/.