Baylor recruiting participants for COVID-19 impact study

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our daily lives, often increasing stress and anxiety and putting added pressure on relationships. Population scientists at Baylor College of Medicine are recruiting people across the U.S. to share their experiences and how the pandemic is impacting their health and well-being in an online survey.

“COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in all aspects of American life. It is important to understand how these disruptions are affecting people’s health and well-being to inform public health messaging and mobilization of community support to help individuals and families cope,” said Dr. Hoda Badr, principal investigator of the study and associate professor of medicine – epidemiology and population sciences at Baylor.

Participants will be asked to complete a one-time online survey to answer questions about how the pandemic is affecting daily life, health behaviors, emotional well-being and family relationships. The survey also asks about coping behaviors and desires for support and information. Because this is a national survey, Badr and her team hope to examine whether the psychosocial impacts of the pandemic differ for certain subgroups based on demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status), geography (e.g., rural versus urban locations, states with stay at home orders versus those that do not), health history and caregiving responsibilities.

Data collected from this study will guide healthcare providers so they can better assist individuals and families to cope with the impacts of the pandemic. The results also could identify health disparities and inform policy discussions about how best to support vulnerable individuals and families. Participants must be 18 years or older. All survey submissions are confidential. For questions regarding the study, contact covid19study@bcm.edu.