JUNE 11, 2021 — A new study by Emily Nicklett could be key to addressing the unique health challenges of COVID-19 on an often-overlooked population: older adults of color.
Nicklett, who is an associate professor of social work in the UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy, hopes her work will lead to improved methods for engaging this population in health-promoting behaviors, which could be critical to stopping the next public health crisis before it starts.
“Currently, the mechanisms through which pandemics and other disruptions exacerbate racial and ethnic health inequities—a public health crisis—are not well understood,” Nicklett said.
Her research aims to examine the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has constrained opportunities for older adults—particularly older adults of color—to engage in health-promoting behavior.
Using data from the 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey, Nicklett will identify how diet, physical activity and self-management of diabetes—a common health concern of this population—contribute to the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults of color, including those residing in predominantly non-white communities.
Nicklett will examine the link between an individual’s behavior and the factors that lead to a certain behavior. Her findings will assess differences in access to food and physical activity infrastructure, according to the race/ethnicity of individuals and the racial/ethnic characteristics of the communities in which they reside. This includes the extent to which COVID-19 has strained opportunities for older adults with type 2 diabetes to follow a diabetes regimen, such as diabetes-friendly diet, physical activity, medications, checking blood sugar, checking feet, and getting diabetes-related care.
Nicklett’s research will include analyzing community, neighborhood and county-level data regarding items such as access to food and physical activity infrastructure.
“Results of the study will represent a significant achievement because the innovative data generated from this project is expected to lay the groundwork for a larger project that would move the field forward considerably,” Nicklett concluded.
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The Dreamer and Undocumented student conversation consists of a panel discussion that will center in the immigrant experience while attending college and as a new professional. Our panelist will discuss their experiences as immigrants from different Latin American countries, and as current or former members of the undocumented community.
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Virtual EventThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
