Authors

Alfonso Ángel Felipe Rubio1, Carlota Canet Fajas2

Position

¹Graduado en Enfermería. Centro de Salud Delicias Sur. Zaragoza (España).²Licenciada en Medicina. Especialista en Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria. Centro de Salud Delicias Sur. Zaragoza (España)

Contact address

Alfonso Ángel Felipe Rubio. Centro de Salud Delicias Sur. C/ Manuel Dronda, 1. 50009 Zaragoza (España)

Contact email: afelipe@salud.aragon.es

Abstract

Objective: to analyse the sociodemographic characteristics of the urban population of Zaragoza affected by COVID-19. Specific objectives: to describe said population according to age, gender, origin, socioeconomic level, and destination after consultation; to describe the characteristics of COVID-19 contagions; and to analyse the association between the origin of the population, their socioeconomic level, and infection by close contact.

Method: a cross-sectional study with the cases of COVID-19 contagion between February and September 2020, from an urban Primary Care Centre in Zaragoza, (N= 1,277). Data were retrieved from the Primary Care database, the public bases from Aragon, the Public Health Surveillance Service, and the epidemiological screening surveys. Square Chi tests were conducted, and statistical significance was p< 0.05.

Results: the study included 1,277 cases (100%); 54.74% were female with a median age of 39 years, 62.02% were of foreign origin, 62.96% had an income <18,000 euros per year, and 91.3% went back home after the consultation. 67.80% of them had contact with an infected person, mainly at home (62.63%). An association was found between the origin of the population and their income level, which was lower for foreigners (p< 0.001), who also presented a higher number of contagions due to close contact (p= 0.009), particularly in the home setting vs. the social setting for the native population (p= 0.039).

Conclusions: the COVID-19 pandemic had a higher impact on vulnerable populations, particularly the foreign population with lower income. Health education strategies must be promoted, which are adapted to the community.

Keywords:

Primary Care; coronavirus infections; vulnerable populations; social inequality; socioeconomic factors; collective effects of health inequalities; descriptive epidemiology

Versión en Español

Título:

Características de la población afectada por COVID-19 en un centro de salud urbano de Zaragoza