Surveying Tenants of Permanent Supportive Housing in Skid Row about COVID-19

Benjamin F Henwood; Brian Redline; Jack Lahey

Surveys began by asking residents if they had "heard of the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak," and they were provided information about it if not. The following questions asked how they viewed the health risk posed by COVID-19; whether they had a pre-existing condition that puts them in a high risk group for COVID-19; whether they had consistently been engaging in preventive handwashing ("have you been washing your hands more since the outbreak began?") and social distancing ("have you been social distancing, or staying away from others and limiting social gatherings, to avoid spreading the virus?"); and whether they had flulike symptoms in the prior 30-days. Tenants were also asked whether they could shelter in place for 14 days if necessary, and those who answered "no" or "maybe" were asked what they would need in order to shelter in place: delivery of food, hygiene products, medications, someone to check in with, something to do, or other). How they viewed the health risk posed by COVID-19 was asked on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from "not at all" to "very seriously." Engagement in preventive handwashing and social distancing was assessed on 4-point Likert scales ranging from "no" to "yes, all the time." Matched administrative data provided basic demographic and health information about respondents (age, gender, race, ethnicity, and presence of a mental health condition).