How minimum wage, COVID-19, and discrimination affect community violence
Official title: RFA-CE-23-004: Structural factors Impacting community Violence (STRIVE): The Role of Minimum Wage, COVID-19, and Discrimination
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11113778 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether changes in state minimum wage, pandemic effects, and discrimination are linked to local violence and who is most affected.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | September 29, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $399,995 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CE003579-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11113778 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This work is most relevant to U.S. residents living in states or counties affected by minimum wage changes during 2020–2021, especially adults aged 18–50 and racial/ethnic minority groups.
✕Less likely to help
People living outside the United States, children under 18, or residents in areas without relevant wage or pandemic-related policy changes are unlikely to see direct benefits from this specific analysis.
What this research studies
We look at how state minimum wage increases, the economic effects of COVID-19, and patterns of discrimination relate to rates of community violence. The team compares places that raised their minimum wage in 2020–2021 with places that did not, using death records, police and hospital injury data, and demographic information. Results will be broken down by race, age, sex, and rural versus urban areas to identify which groups see the biggest changes. The aim is to learn if economic and policy changes can reduce violence in communities hit hardest by the pandemic and structural inequities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could guide policies that reduce violent injury and deaths and help protect communities that face the greatest harms.
How similar studies have gone: Past research links poverty and violence broadly, but using minimum wage increases as a tool to prevent community violence during COVID-19 is relatively new and not yet widely tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ranapurwala, Shabbar I — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Ranapurwala, Shabbar I
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.