Understanding a community’s demographics and structures is essential in designing and formulating effective community health measures. This work provides an in-depth analysis of the community health issue of COVID-19 in Knox County, Indiana. The work will focus on the health status of the community, including the major causes of death, the infant mortality rates, and the availability and accessibility of COVID-19-related health resources. The community’s economic status, including the unemployment data, median income, poverty rates, and percentage of women and children in the community, will also be discussed. Finally, the housing situation in the County, including the average cost of housing, and the type of housing units available, will be analyzed in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic impact and preparedness.

Statement of Purpose

This work aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on the Knox County, Indiana community. By examining the community data on health status, economic status, and housing, this work proposes to identify any potential disparities or vulnerable populations that may be disproportionately affected by the virus. Additionally, this work will provide insight into the availability and accessibility of health resources in the County and the effectiveness of the County’s response to the pandemic. The ultimate goal of this work is to inform policy and decision-making to improve the health and well-being of the community during and after the

Community Assessment

The selected community is located in Knox County in the state of Indiana, with a zip code 46534.

Population Characteristics

According to the 2020 United States Census data, Knox County, Indiana, had a total population of 38,440. The population is smaller when compared to other counties in Indiana. The age breakdown of the population is as follows:

0-4 years: 2,827 (7.3%)

5-9 years: 2,818 (7.3%)

10-14 years: 2,814 (7.3%)

15-19 years: 2,813 (7.3%)

20-24 years: 2,274 (5.9%)

25-29 years: 2,272 (5.9%)

30-34 years: 2,230 (5.8%)

35-39 years: 2,153 (5.6%)

40-44 years: 2,176 (5.7%)

45-49 years: 2,404 (6.3%)

50-54 years: 2,766 (7.2%)

55-59 years: 3,108 (8.1%)

60-64 years: 2,958 (7.7%)

65-69 years: 2,312 (6.0%)

70-74 years: 1,857 (4.8%)

75-79 years: 1,397 (3.6%)

80-84 years: 964 (2.5%)

85+ years: 902 (2.3%)

(U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Knox County, Indiana, 2021)

The mean age of the population is 42.2 years Which is consistent with the national average. The age distribution is generally evenly distributed across all age groups, with the ages 45-49 at 6.3% as the largest group. The racial breakdown of the population consists of a majority white race at 37,532 (97.8%), followed by African Americans at 216 (0.6%), followed by American Indians and Alaska Natives at 11 (0.03%), followed by Asians at 47 (0.1%), Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders at 4 (0.01%), and some other race at 101 (0.3%). 1,3% of the population, at 484, is biracial (U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts: Knox County, Indiana, 2021). With a small percentage of minority groups, there is a lower risk of health outcome disparities among the population. The high percentage of older adults could indicate a higher risk of severe illness and death in the event of COVID-19 infection.

Gender and cultural Ancestry

The female gender in Knox, Indiana, constitutes the largest proportion at 50.3%, which equates to 19,358 inhabitants as compared to the males, who constitute 48% at a population of 19.082. The gender distribution is almost equal. The most common ancestries in Knox County are of German descent at 37.8%, Irish at 17.4%, and English at 15.8%. Other common ancestries include American at 8.6%, French at 4.9%, and Scottish Ancestry at 4.1% (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Knox County, Indiana, 2021). This distribution of Ancestry is consistent with the historical settlement patterns in the area.

Occupations

Knox County, Indiana’s most common occupations are sales and office at 15.4%, production, transportation, and material moving at 14.5%, management, business, science, and arts at 14.1%, and service occupations at 13.8%. Other occupations include construction, extraction, maintenance, and repair at 12.8%; natural resources, construction, and maintenance at 6.7%; health care practitioners and technical occupations at 6.5%; food preparation and serving-related occupations at 5.2%; education, training, and library occupations at 4.7% (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Knox County, Indiana, 2021). Knox’s occupational distributio