Informal modes of social support among residents of the rural American West during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal spending to government safety net programs in the U.S. increased dramatically. Despite this unparalleled spending, government safety nets were widely critiqued for failing to fully meet many households' needs. Disaster research suggests that informal modes of social support often emerge during times of disruption, such as the first year of the pandemic. However, use of formal government programs and informal support are rarely examined relative to each other, resulting in an incomplete picture of how households navigate disaster impacts and financial shocks. This study compares estimates of informal social support to formal government program use in the rural U.S. West, drawing on data from a rapid-response survey fielded durin

SUBMITTER: McConnell K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10993294 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature