@article {Owens686, author = {Christopher D. Owens and Gerardo M. Pertuz and Julio C. Sanchez and Jorge Ayala and Lindsey H. Pimentel and Christopher Lamb and Yelyt E. Lopez Mayo and Alfredo Lopez Yunez}, title = {The COVID-19 Pandemic in a Hispanic Population: A Primary Care Perspective}, volume = {35}, number = {4}, pages = {686--694}, year = {2022}, doi = {10.3122/jabfm.2022.04.210163}, publisher = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine}, abstract = {Introduction: The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected all ethnic and minority groups although not equally. The goals of the present study are twofold: describe the diverse COVID-19-related care needs Hispanic patients presenting to a primary care facility and the symptom clusters and socioeconomic factors that may impact their wellbeing.Methods: This is a retrospective cohort of Hispanic patients in an outpatient clinic serving an urban lower socioeconomic demographic, between May 9 and July 31, 2020. COVID-19 infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction or rapid antibody test. Student{\textquoteright}s t-test was used for means and the chi2 was used for comparisons of proportions.Results: A total of 6616 patients visited Alivio, 409 were triaged to a containment area, and 378 were tested for COVID-19; 230 with, 148 without symptoms. Of those tested, 161(42.6\%) were positive, representing 2.4\% of total patients seen. Age, temperature, and pulse rate were all significantly higher in patients with symptoms compared with those without. Symptoms were grouped into 5 clusters: constitutional, n = 143(62\%), respiratory, n = 136 (59\%), and somatic, n = 97(42\%) were most common. No single cluster was particularly diagnostic of COVID-19, although those with symptoms in multiple clusters were more likely to test positive, P \< .001. The majority worked in essential jobs, were uninsured, and had more than half had prolonged symptoms.Conclusions: Hispanic patients have diverse reasons for seeking health care and for testing in a pandemic. COVID-19 is a syndromic disease as evidenced from the clustering of symptoms. Essential workers and uninsured health status may lead to more prolonged disease course.}, issn = {1557-2625}, URL = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/35/4/686}, eprint = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/35/4/686.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine} }