scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ethnic minority communities: a qualitative study on the perspectives of ethnic minority community leaders

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e050584
Author(s):  
Fesani Mahmood ◽  
Dev Acharya ◽  
Kanta Kumar ◽  
Vibhu Paudyal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Minority Community ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ethnic Minority Community

ObjectivesTo explore the perspectives of ethnic minority community leaders in relation to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their communities; and their community’s perception, understanding and adherence to government guidelines on COVID-19 public health measures.DesignA phenomenological approach was adopted using qualitative semistructured interviews.SettingsCommunity organisations and places of worships in the West Midlands, England.ParticipantsCommunity leaders recruited through organisations representing ethnic minority communities and religious places of worship.ResultsA total of 19 participants took part. Participants alluded to historical and structural differences for the observed disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Many struggled with lockdown measures which impeded cultural and religious gatherings that were deemed to be integral to the community. Cultural and social practices led to many suffering on their own as discussion of mental health was still deemed a taboo within many communities. Many expressed their community’s reluctance to report symptoms for the fear of financial and physical health implications. They reported increase in hate crime which was deemed to be exacerbated due to perceived insensitive messaging from authority officials and historical racism in the society. Access and adherence to government guidelines was an issue for many due to language and digital barriers. Reinforcement from trusted community and religious leaders encouraged adherence. Points of support such as food banks were vital in ensuring essential supplies during the pandemic. Many could not afford or have access to masks and sanitisers.ConclusionThe study highlights the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ethnic minority communities. Government agencies and public health agencies need to integrate with the community, and community leaders can enable dissemination of key messages to deliver targeted yet sensitive public health advice which incorporates cultural and religious practices. Addressing the root causes of disparities is imperative to mitigate current and future pandemics.

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities: a qualitative study on the perspectives of BAME community leaders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fesani Mahmood ◽  
Dev Acharya ◽  
Kanta Kumar ◽  
Vibhu Paudyal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Hate Crime ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
List Type ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Community Organisations ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of BAME community leaders in relation to - the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their communities; and BAME community’s perception, understanding and adherence to Government guidelines on COVID-19 public health measures. Design A phenomenological approach was adopted using qualitative semi-structured interviews. Settings Community organisations and places of worships in the West Midlands region of England. Participants Community leaders were recruited through organisations representing BAME communities and religious places of worship. Results A total of 19 participants took part. Participants alluded to historical and structural differences for the observed disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. Many struggled with lockdown measures which impeded cultural and religious gatherings that were deemed to be integral to the community. Cultural and social practices led to many suffering on their own as discussion of mental health was still deemed a taboo within many communities. Many expressed their community’s reluctance to report symptoms for the fear of financial and physical health implications. They reported increase in hate crime which was deemed to be exacerbated due to perceived insensitive messaging from authority officials and historical structural biases. Access and adherence to government guidelines was an issue for many due to language and digital barriers. Reinforcement from trusted community and religious leaders encouraged adherence. Points of support such as food banks were vital in ensuring essential supplies during the pandemic. Many could not afford masks and sanitisers. Conclusion The study highlights the perceived impact of COVID-19 pandemic on BAME communities. Government agencies and public health agencies need to integrate with the community, and community leaders to penetrate the key messages and deliver targeted yet sensitive public health advice which incorporates cultural and religious practices. Addressing route cause of disparities is imperative to mitigate current and future pandemics. Strengths and limitations of this study To our knowledge, this is the first study in England to investigate the understanding of risk and impact of COVID-19 using the perspectives of BAME community leaders. Participants represented diverse BAME community organisations and places of worship. Participant recruitment was limited to one of the seven regions within England with the highest proportion of BAME populations. Results may not be generalizable to any BAME communities not represented in the data.

scholarly journals Ethnic minority community access to popular culture in the context of tourism (case of Thai ethnic group in Lac Village, Mai Chau, Hoa Binh, Vietnam)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-283
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thanh Nam
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Minority Community ◽  
Mass Tourism ◽  
North Vietnam ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Culinary Culture ◽  
Hoa Binh

AbstractTourism is a growing service economic sector that creates jobs for many communities in the world. Ethnic minority communities in many countries are also now taking part in tourism activities. Vietnam is a country with great potentials for natural landscapes, historical values, indigenous culture of ethnic groups with habits and lifestyles, rich culinary culture of regions. It is the basis for development of tourism. Through tourism, tourists will understand the daily life of indigenous peoples, but at the same time people in these ethnic minority communities will have the opportunity to access popular cultural phenomena. This thesis discusses the ethnic minority communities’ access to popular culture through tourism such as mass media, popular culinary culture or mass tourism. The case study was conducted in a village of ethnic minorities in Hoa Binh province, North Vietnam which has been undergoing changes under the impact of tourism in recent years.

scholarly journals A tale of two parts of Switzerland: regional differences in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Seiler ◽  
Georg Staubli ◽  
Julia Hoeffe ◽  
Gianluca Gualco ◽  
Sergio Manzano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
The South ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
The North ◽  
Regional Strategies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background We aimed to document the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on regions within a European country. Methods Parents arriving at two pediatric emergency departments (EDs) in North of Switzerland and two in South of Switzerland completed an online survey during the first peak of the pandemic (April–June 2020). They were asked to rate their concern about their children or themselves having COVID-19. Results A total of 662 respondents completed the survey. Parents in the South were significantly more exposed to someone tested positive for COVID-19 than in the North (13.9 and 4.7%, respectively; P <  0.001). Parents in the South were much more concerned than in the North that they (mean 4.61 and 3.32, respectively; P <  0.001) or their child (mean 4.79 and 3.17, respectively; P <  0.001) had COVID-19. Parents reported their children wore facemasks significantly more often in the South than in the North (71.5 and 23.5%, respectively; P <  0.001). Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant regional differences among families arriving at EDs in Switzerland. Public health agencies should consider regional strategies, rather than country-wide guidelines, in future pandemics and for vaccination against COVID-19 for children.

scholarly journals Barriers to hospital electronic public health reporting and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1306-1309
Author(s):  
A Jay Holmgren ◽  
Nate C Apathy ◽  
Julia Adler-Milstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Electronic Data ◽  
American Hospital ◽  
American Hospital Association ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Hospital Referral ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
To Receive

Abstract We sought to identify barriers to hospital reporting of electronic surveillance data to local, state, and federal public health agencies and the impact on areas projected to be overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using 2018 American Hospital Association data, we identified barriers to surveillance data reporting and combined this with data on the projected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital capacity at the hospital referral region level. Our results find the most common barrier was public health agencies lacked the capacity to electronically receive data, with 41.2% of all hospitals reporting it. We also identified 31 hospital referral regions in the top quartile of projected bed capacity needed for COVID-19 patients in which over half of hospitals in the area reported that the relevant public health agency was unable to receive electronic data. Public health agencies’ inability to receive electronic data is the most prominent hospital-reported barrier to effective syndromic surveillance. This reflects the policy commitment of investing in information technology for hospitals without a concomitant investment in IT infrastructure for state and local public health agencies.

Towards EU Negotiations: A Moment of Opportunity for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities in Kosovo?

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-452
Author(s):  
Margareta Matache ◽  
Jacqueline Bhabha ◽  
Carrie Bronsther
Keyword(s):  
Scale Up ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Minority Community ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact

In the context of an ongoing Kosovo Government agenda promoting European Union accession, this paper examines the impact of two transitions – the post-conflict period and the current EU dialogue and negotiations – on the country’s Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. The paper discusses the social and political dynamics of these two transitions and how they affect the status of the minority communities. It examines the role of intergovernmental and non-profit organizations in advancing protection measures (e.g. by pressing for the elimination of school segregation) and accelerating implementation of important infrastructure projects (as a prelude to national scale up). The paper compares the standards invoked by the Kosovar Government to those used by other European countries in the prelude to accession. It considers whether the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian political leadership are effectively leveraging the political momentum attached to the protection of minority rights, given that this is a central precondition for EU accession. The paper concludes that the current moment offers a unique window of opportunity to the minority communities, but one that will be squandered if minority community divisions and sectional interests continue, as at present, to compound EU policy implementation failures and thereby impede the path towards a multicultural Kosovo. By contrast, the minority community leadership could take advantage of the Kosovar Government’s interest in demonstrating its future membership bona fides by making a determined and joint effort to press for substantive minority rights protections through a unified platform. The paper suggests examples for development of such a platform.

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