Protecting the vulnerable during COVID-19: Treating and preventing chronic disease disparities

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated health disparities across ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) - such as hypertension, diabetes, and obstructive lung diseases – are key drivers of this widening gap, because they disproportionately afflict vulnerable populations. Vulnerable populations with non-communicable diseases, in turn, are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 itself – but also at increased risk of poor outcomes from those underlying conditions. Proven strategies for NCD control must be adapted to help vulnerable patients react to these dual threats. We detail six key policy interventions – task shifting, workforce protection, telehealth and mobile services, insurance restructuring and increased funding for NCDs, prescription policies for NCDs and community partnerships - to bridge this care gap. Long-term integration of these care models post-COVID-19 may prevent care shocks during future pandemics, bolstering emerging universal primary care models.