Social Mobility Restrictions on and off American Indian Reservations: Effects on Health Care Access and Utilization During COVID-19

16 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2023

See all articles by Randall Akee

Randall Akee

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Luskin School of Public Affairs

Elliot Charette

University of Minnesota

Luis Quintero

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School

Emilia Simeonova

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School

Date Written: July 10, 2023

Abstract

We estimate healthcare utilization changes in response to non-pharmaceutical interventions by using cell phone traffic data and a new dataset on social mobility restrictions on and off Native American reservations. Our findings suggest that reservation residents experienced a smaller reduction in visits to healthcare facilities compared to off-reservation residents. This can be attributed to the lack of alternative healthcare options and more acute health conditions prevalent among American Indian populations. Interestingly, we observed a stronger reaction from reservation residents to casino closures than to stay-at-home orders issued by their respective counties, highlighting the importance of considering reservation-specific policies in public health policy analysis. Our study sheds light on critical health issues faced by a vulnerable population that is often overlooked due to the lack of appropriate data. By using an alternative data source that accurately represents reservations, we contribute towards tackling the problem of undercoverage of this population in traditional surveys.

Note:
Funding Information: The authors state that this paper received funds from an NIH grant. No other outside funding was received.

Conflict of Interests: No competing interests to declare.

Keywords: COVID-19, American Indians, Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions, Behavioral Responses

Suggested Citation

Akee, Randall and Charette, Elliot and Quintero, Luis and Simeonova, Emilia, Social Mobility Restrictions on and off American Indian Reservations: Effects on Health Care Access and Utilization During COVID-19 (July 10, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4505938 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4505938

Randall Akee

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Luskin School of Public Affairs ( email )

3250 Public Affairs Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656
United States

Elliot Charette

University of Minnesota

Luis Quintero (Contact Author)

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School ( email )

100 International Drive
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States

Emilia Simeonova

Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School ( email )

100 International Drive
Baltimore, MD 21202
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
28
Abstract Views
114
PlumX Metrics