The research presented here aims to explore the perceived Quality of Life (QoL) and perceived accessibility among varying demographic and socioeconomic groups in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. A relationship between perceived QoL and perceived accessibility was further investigated. The data was collected through the Phoenix Area Social Survey (PASS), which sent randomized surveys to 496 people in the Phoenix region. The survey’s response rate varied, from a low of 22.2% in one of the lowest-income neighborhoods and a high of 55.6% for a middle-income neighborhood. Results were obtained through statistical analyses, such as correlations, chi-squared tests, and t-tests. Results for income, gender and ethnicity indicated similar and comparable perceived QoL and perceived accessibility in the Phoenix area. The data did not reveal a relationship between perceived QoL and perceived accessibility; however, accessibility did increase with increasing income. A striking finding revolved around disparities in access to walkability and transit across all income, genders and ethnicities. This presents implications for built environment and resource allocation planning in order to enhance the lives of residents in the Valley. Future research and investigation into the objective indicators of QoL and impacts of culture on QoL should be pursued.

In a healthcare system already struggling with burnout among its professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a barrage of personal and occupational strife to US healthcare workers. Structural and everyday discrimination contributed to the health inequities of people of color in the US, exacerbated by COVID-19-related racism and xenophobia. There is little research regarding the effects of COVID-19 and related and/or concurring discrimination upon minority nursing staff, despite their importance in supporting the diverse American patient population with culturally competent, tireless care amid the pandemic. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine 1) the relationships between discrimination, social support, resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff in the US during COVID-19, and 2) the differences of discrimination, social support resilience, and quality of life among minority nursing staff between different racial/ethnic groups during COVID-19. The sample (n = 514) included Black/African American (n = 161, 31.4%), Latinx/Hispanic (n = 131, 25.5%), Asian (n = 87, 17%), Native American/Alaskan Native (n = 69, 13.5%), and Pacific Islander (n = 65, 12.7%) nursing staff from 47 US states. The multiple regression results showed that witnessing discrimination was associated with a lower quality of life score, while higher social support and resilience scores were associated with higher quality of life scores across all racial groups. Furthermore, while participants from all racial groups witnessed and experienced discrimination, Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff experienced discrimination most commonly, alongside having lowest quality of life and highest resilience scores. Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff had similarly high discrimination and low quality of life, although low resilience scores. Our findings suggest that minority nursing staff who have higher COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates (Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaskan Native) were left more vulnerable to negative effects from discrimination. Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff reported a relatively higher resilience score than all other groups, potentially attributed to the positive effects of biculturality in the workplace, however, the low average quality of life score suggests a simultaneous erosion of well-being. Compared to all other groups, Native American and Alaskan Native nursing staff’s low resilience and quality of life scores suggest a potential compounding effect of historical trauma affecting their well-being, especially in contrast to Hispanic/Latinx nursing staff. This study has broader implications for research on the lasting effects of COVID-19 on minority healthcare workers’ and communities’ well-being, especially regarding Hispanic/Latinx and Native American/Alaskan Native nursing staff.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pandemic’s effect on the psychosocial and physical quality of life of children with and without classic galactosemia and their parents in the Babble Boot Camp. The Babble Boot Camp within ASU’s Speech and Hearing Genetics Lab provides early intervention speech therapy for children with classic galactosemia (CG), evaluating their speech progress as well as other metrics related to stress and quality of life. In this study, the Quality of Life questionnaire (Varni, 1998) was used to measure how three pandemic stages (pre-pandemic, intense-pandemic, post intense-pandemic) affected the entire participant population, those with CG children compared to typically developing, and each family member (father vs. mother vs. child). These factors were combined within an integrated regression model to see driving factors and correlations within responses. The main results were that the pandemic itself did not have a significant effect, but there was quite a significant impact on psychosocial health when comparing affected vs unaffected groups. Evaluating an integrated regression model with the consideration of all three pandemic phases, the results show that the factor driving group differences over time was the affectation of the participant for psychosocial health and family member for physical health. When looking at just pre-pandemic and intense pandemic phase, both models in their entirety were significant, showing that all predictors (affectation, pandemic phase, and family member) drove health differences. Lastly, the findings of the study show that there were significant correlations between the health scores of fathers, mothers, and children throughout the different stages of the pandemic.

Studies during and following the height of the Coronavirus pandemic show that psychological and physical health levels decrease, due to factors such as reduced human contact and anxiety. However, there is little to no research on how quality of life levels would change over the course of the pandemic for families who have the added stress of having a child with a developmental complication. To answer this question, this study utilized longitudinal data from the Babble Boot Camp, a project under the ASU Speech Language Genetics Lab, to analyze quality of life measures in families who have children with Classic Galactosemia (CG). CG is an inborn metabolic disorder that causes an intolerance to galactose, a sugar in dairy, the effects of which can be deadly. These children often show signs of developmental delays in multiple areas within the first few years of life. Studying quality of life surveys before, during, and after the most intense phase of the pandemic, this study investigates the difference between these families and those with typical children.