Tracking the reach of COVID-19 kin loss with a bereavement multiplier applied to the United States.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a large increase in mortality in the United States and around the world, leaving many grieving the sudden loss of family members. We created an indicator-the COVID-19 bereavement multiplier-that estimates the average number of individuals who will experience the death of a close relative (defined as a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse, or child) for each COVID-19 death. Using demographic microsimulation-based estimates of kinship networks in the United States, the clear age gradient in COVID-19 mortality seen across contexts, and several hypothetical infection prevalence scenarios, we estimate COVID-19 bereavement multipliers for White and Black individuals in the United States. Our analysis shows that for every COVID-19 death,

SUBMITTER: Verdery AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7395491 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature