Our Kupuna: Understanding their Risks
This is part of a series of posts highlighting results from the Hawaii COVID Contact Tracking Survey conducted by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) and the Pacific Urban Resilience Lab (PURL) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The Hawaii Data Collaborative has partnered with this group to share regular analyses and updates from this survey in the coming weeks. If you have not done so already, we encourage you to participate in the survey here.
By now it is common knowledge that our kupuna are the ones “most at risk” during this pandemic. More specifically, they are the ones most vulnerable and in danger of having their health seriously affected by the disease and/or most likely to succumb to it. But our survey shows that they, themselves, do not have the most “exposure” to the virus when living independently and not part of a multi-generation household.
Instead, our findings suggest that transmission of COVID-19 is more likely to occur among younger individuals who are more active in the community. In our survey, individuals between the ages of 25 to 44 were the most likely (19 percent) to report symptoms of COVID-19 or have a household member who tested positive for the virus when compared with other age groups (Figure 1).
In general, our kupuna tend to be more isolated from exposure to the virus. Most have retired and no longer commute into offices nor interact with a workforce or the greater business community. This likely contributes to the fact that only 11 percent of senior-only households reported symptoms of the COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus, compared with 17 percent of all other households (Figure 2).
However, our kupuna are at greater risk when they live with younger members of a household, who, as we noted earlier, tend to be more active and more likely to contract the virus and then transmit it to household members.
Among kupuna households, those with multi-generational members reported the highest percentage of symptoms or confirmed cases of COVID-19 (18 percent). Kupuna households with working-age individuals and kupuna households with youth had the next highest percentages of reported symptoms or cases (16 percent and 14 percent, respectively, Figure 3).
It is a conundrum that most families have great difficulty working through. As their kupuna age, they become more dependent on family members. It’s no secret that Hawaii has one of the highest proportions of multi-generational households—both because of our strong sense of ohana and Hawaii’s high cost of living.
Those who support these households work because they have to. They shop for food and essentials because they have to—in many instances, knowing that their comings and goings pose great risk to their seniors during this pandemic. For those who are more cavalier about the dangers their interactions pose to all kupuna, the information presented here should be a wake-up call.
It is a part of the irony of the times that if we want to protect and show our concern for those we love the most, we must sometimes keep them at bay.
Related Posts in this Series:
Insights from the Hawaii COVID Contact Tracking Survey
The Good, The Bad and Social Distancing in Hawaii
Ongoing and Comprehensive Information Key to Reopening Hawaii
Contact Tracing versus Contact Tracking
How Vulnerable is Hawaii in the Face of a Coronavirus Pandemic?
Small Business May Play a Not-So-Small Part in Restarting Hawaii’s Economy
Underlying Health Conditions and How They Impact Our Vulnerability in Hawaii
Family Ties: Are Hawaii’s Multigenerational Families More at Risk?
