Within the ECHO consortium, Columbia Center for Children?s Environmental Health (CCCEH) has three longitudinal pregnancy cohorts comprised primarily of African American and Hispanic mothers and their children, who were recruited during pregnancy beginning in 1998. The three cohorts span all ECHO life stages and represent an urban, minority population that is typically under-represented in scientific research. The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had worldwide impact; during the ?first wave?, New York City (NYC) was identified as the U.S. epicenter. There are many early indicators suggesting that urban minority communities were among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; and effects of exposure to the pandemic vary by life stage. To develop strategies to mitigate these disparities and to more fully understand the impact of COVID-19 on the health and welfare of children living in the most affected communities during this pandemic, our group is contributing to 3 ECHO supplement concepts. Collectively, these concepts address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nearly every outcome domain within ECHO: perinatal; respiratory; neurodevelopmental; and positive health outcomes. Specifically, the aims address the impact of infection; the broader impact of the pandemic and its associated policies (e.g., lockdowns) on environmental determinants of health; and the impact on social determinants of health. In complete alignment with the ECHO mission, this proposal addresses the impact of exposure to the COVID-19 virus and concurrent pandemic- related changes in the environmental chemical and psychosocial environments on child health, development, and well-being overall and within urban, minority communities. Given the long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to understand how these factors influence child outcomes measured in ECHO, particularly among a subgroup of the study population that may be among the most highly impacted. Collectively, our proposal seeks to learn from the pandemic, using it as an opportunity to inform the future development of more effective programs and policies that protect and support all children, especially the most vulnerable.
There are many early indicators suggesting that urban minority communities were among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic; and effects of exposure to the pandemic vary by life stage. This proposal addresses the impact of exposure to the COVID-19 virus and concurrent pandemic-related changes in chemical and psychosocial environments on child health, development, and well-being overall and within urban, minority communities. Through partnerships with other ECHO cohorts that reflect children from varying geographies (e.g., non-urban) and that reflect other race and ethnic groups, we can more fully understand the differential impact(s) of the pandemic on U.S. children.
