Date of Conferral

11-19-2024

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Carla Riemersma

Abstract

Although the Covid-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, limited information about how the virus affects adolescents regarding long-term health risks is available. This quantitative study focused on the effect of U.S. adolescents' daily diet, race/ethnicity, levels of income, access to health care, age, and comorbidities on the risks of long Covid-19 syndrome. The constructs of the health belief model were used to understand the impact of those variables. The results of the online survey (n=298) with the parents of adolescent children (ages 11-17) from New York City found that adolescents whose daily vegetable consumption was more than the daily recommendations had a lower odds ratio of having long Covid-19 syndrome when compared to adolescents whose daily vegetable consumption was below the daily recommendations (OR = 0.03 vs. OR = 23.6). Multivariate logistic regression and chi square analysis found the following predictors of long Covid-19 syndrome for adolescent children: daily consumption level of vegetables, families of the lower middle class (OR = 6.286, 95% CI [1.928, 20.498]), not having insurance coverage (OR = 5.686, CI [1.160, 27.870]), not having money to pay medical bills (OR = 9.627, CI [1.938, 47.835]), not visiting doctor often for a physical checkup (OR = 4.1), and not visiting doctor because of cost (OR = 15.0, CI [1.758, 127.951]). The findings suggest that improving (a) adolescents' daily consumption of vegetables and (b) families' access to health care may help reduce adolescents’ odds of having long Covid-19 syndrome. Using these findings, public health stakeholders may be able to formulate strategies to improve adolescents' diet and access to health care, both of which reduce rates of long Covid-19 syndrome.

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