Health as a Human Right: Advocating for the Health of Vulnerable Populations during COVID-19

Overview: This presentation will offer data from an original study on ways social workers can advocate for vulnerable populations in the midst of the pandemic. Attendees to this session will engage in critical conversations about the best ways to advocate for clients experiencing poor perceived health and somatic anxiety.Proposal text: Health is at the center of human rights. As social workers we are called upon to advocate for the wellbeing of vulnerable populations. People with poor perceived health are more likely to experience depression, complain of multiple symptoms, and participate in less daily living activities. The aim of this presentation is to share ways social workers can advocate for vulnerable populations (classified as racially minority and economically challenged individuals) who perceive their health to be poor while experiencing somatic anxiety during COVID-19. The presentation will include data from an original study that was conducted during COVID-19. The sample for the study (Nf515) consisted of 47% males and 53% females. The majority (64.9%) reported being married. IRB approval was obtained for the study. The researchers used process moderation (Hayes, 2008) to examine the moderating effects religion/spirituality may have on poor health and somatic anxiety. The results showed a significant inverse relationship between perceived health and somatic anxiety (β = -1.70, p < .01), and a non-significant inverse relationship between religious/spiritual activities and somatic anxiety (β = -.07, p > .05). However, the interaction between perceived health and religious/spiritual activities on somatic anxiety was found to be significant (β = .16, p < .05), suggesting that religious/spiritual activities during COVID-19 moderates the effect of perceived health on somatic anxiety in individuals considered vulnerable populations. Additionally, the presenters will show the conditional effects of perceived health on somatic anxiety at 3 points along the scale of the moderator. At -1SD on spiritual/religious involvement, the effect was negative and significant. At the mid-point of spiritual/religious involvement, the result was negative and significant. Finally, at 1SD on spiritual/religious involvement, the effect was negative and significant. The results of this study indicate that when vulnerable populations perceive their health to be poor, they are more likely to experience significant somatic anxiety. Especially in the midst of a stressful time period such as COVID-19. However, when these individuals become involved in spiritual/religious activities such as prayer, meditation, reflection, church/temple/synagogue attendance, etc., they are less likely to experience the symptoms of somatic anxiety. These findings point to the importance of assessing and identifying spirituality and religion as a significant resource to help moderate the pejorative effects of somatic anxiety during stressful times. The presenters will provide additional information on the measures used, the psychometric results, the criteria for sampling and additional tools social workers can use to advocate for vulnerable populations.