A methodological blueprint to identify COVID-19 vulnerable locales by socioeconomic factors, developed using South Korean data

COVID-19 has more severely impacted socioeconomically (SES) disadvantaged populations. Lack of SES measurements and inaccurately identifying high-risk locales can hamper COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Using South Korean COVID-19 incidence data (January 20 through July 1, 2020) and established social theoretical approaches, we identified COVID-19-specific SES factors. Principal component analysis created composite indexes for each SES factor, while Geographically Weighted Negative Binomial Regressions mapped a continuous surface of COVID-19 risk for South Korea. High area morbidity, risky health behaviours, crowding, and population mobility elevated area risk for COVID-19, while improved social distancing, healthcare access, and education decreased it. Our results indicated that falling SES-related COVID-19 risks and spatial shift patterns over three consecutive time periods reflected the implementation of reportedly effective public health interventions. While validating earlier studies, this study introduced a methodological blueprint for precision targeting of high-risk locales that is globally applicable for COVID-19 and future pandemics. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement The work described here was not funded by any source. Dr. Kouzoukas receives research grant support from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DEK: VA I21-RX003170). The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect that of any government agency or institution. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This is not a clinical trial requiring IRB oversight. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes The data and SAS code underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.