Study sheds light on impact of COVID-19 on ethnocultural communities

A new study published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association (CMAJ) highlights the impact of COVID-19 on members of the ethnocultural community living in vulnerable circumstances

Researchers from the University of Alberta and the Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative (MHBC) -; immigrant and refugee community health workers serving diverse ethnocultural communities in Edmonton, Alberta -; collaborated in fall 2020 to collect 773 stories on the impacts of COVID-19 and efforts to mitigate it.

“We sought to understand how the challenges of COVID-19 relate to contextual factors at multiple levels, how families and communities leverage strengths and social capital to adapt, and the role of cultural brokers in managing of the crisisWrite co-leaders Yvonne Chiu, co-executive director of MHBC, and Denise Campbell-Scherer, professor of family medicine at the University of Alberta, with the co-authors.

The team found that COVID-19 was destabilizing family units and making it more time-consuming and resource-intensive for people to support their families. For many, finding the right information and support to help manage the impacts of the pandemic was also a major challenge. Financial, food and housing insecurity; precarious employment; Job Loss; lack of sick leave to allow self-isolation; the low level of English literacy and other factors have intensified the negative effects of COVID-19.

“The wave of COVID-19 in ethnocultural communities across North America, and the destabilizing effect of the pandemic on health systems, have highlighted the systemic structures that lead to poor health in ethnocultural communities, write the authors.

The study also shows how families and communities used their strengths and social capital to adapt and highlight the important role of community health workers in helping people navigate health and care systems. social.

“Cultural brokering and community social capital were key supports for [the COVID-19] crisis, and our results can support policies and interventions that can reduce damage and support community resilience,“conclude the authors.

“Shedding light on and mitigating the evolving impacts of COVID-19 on ethnocultural communities: a study of mixed methods of participatory action” is published on August 9, 2021.