The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Mental Health of African Immigrants in the United States.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrants in the United States is understudied. We investigated the effect of the pandemic on the mental health of African immigrants in the United States and if subjective religiosity was a protective factor. We analyzed primary data collected using an online survey (n = 260). The study's outcome variable was incident mental health disorder associated with the pandemic, and the primary independent variable was religiosity. Chi-squared and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare the distribution of variables by incident mental health disorders. Logistic regression models were used to quantify the association between predictors and the outcome. There were 39 (15.0%) new cases of mental health disorders related to the pandemic. The median scores in the three domains of religiosity of those who developed a mental health disorder and those who did not were not significantly different. Significant predictors of this outcome included having a strong religious support network and loss of household employment income. African immigrants experienced an increased rate of mental health disorders during the pandemic. Implementing community-based strategies to provide social support during a disaster may be essential in promoting mental health in the African immigrant community.

The Immigrant Memory Collaborative: A Community-University Partnership to Assess African Immigrant Families' Experiences with Dementia.

Research suggests a disparity in the prevalence of dementia, with Black older adults having double the risk compared to their White counterparts. African immigrants are a fast-growing segment of the U.S. Black population, but the dementia care needs and resources of this population are not fully understood. In this paper, we describe the process of working collaboratively with a community partner and project advisory board to conduct a culturally informed project. Specifically, we describe the process of developing culturally informed instruments to collect data on dementia care needs and resources among African immigrants. Working together with a diverse project advisory board, a guide was developed and used to conduct community conversations about experiences with dementia/memory loss. Transcripts from six conversations with 24 total participants were transcribed and analyzed thematically by two independent coders in Nvivo. These qualitative findings were used to inform the development of a survey for quantitative data collection that is currently ongoing. Themes (e.g., cultural attitudes, challenges, and current resources) from the community conversations that informed the survey are described briefly. Despite the challenges of conducting research during a global pandemic, having trusting relationships with a partnering community organization and project advisory board facilitated the successful development of instruments to conduct preliminary dementia care research in an underserved population. We anticipate that survey results will inform interventions that increase education, outreach, and access to dementia care and caregiving resources for this population. It may serve as a model for community-university partnerships for similar public health efforts in dementia as well as other chronic disease contexts.

Understanding the blended impacts of COVID-19 and systemic inequalities on sub-Saharan African immigrants in Canada.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a grave health threat and has serious socio-economic implications for all. However, crises are not experienced equally; the pandemic has disproportionately affected immigrants in several countries, including Canada and the United States. The effects of COVID-19 have exposed the realities of societal and structural inequities, worsened the socio-economic status of many immigrants, and placed them at higher risks of poor health outcomes. Emerging research on COVID-19 and race in Canada addresses the structural inequities that shape the disproportionate harms of COVID-19 on immigrants. For sub-Saharan African immigrants, these inequities are worse due to the intersecting systems of race, gender, and class marginalization. They tend to be more exposed and less protected amid the pandemic. Given the lack of research on sub-Saharan African immigrants' experiences in Canada, this paper discusses how multiple axes of inequities shape their health and livelihood during COVID-19. The objective is to provide a broader scientific understanding of issues related to systemic inequities and health for sub-Saharan African immigrants in Canada and the related implications for public health advocates, policymakers, and the public.

RéSUMé: La pandémie de COVID-19 pose une grave menace pour la santé et a de graves conséquences socioéconomiques pour tous. Les crises ne touchent cependant pas tout le monde également; la pandémie a démesurément touché les immigrants dans plusieurs pays, entre autres au Canada et aux États-Unis. Les effets de la COVID-19 ont mis au jour la réalité des iniquités sociétales et structurelles, réduit le statut socioéconomique de nombreux immigrants et exposé ces immigrants à de plus grands risques de mauvais résultats cliniques. Des études émergentes sur la COVID-19 et la race au Canada abordent les iniquités structurelles qui déterminent les préjudices disproportionnés causés par la COVID-19 aux immigrants. Pour les immigrants d'Afrique subsaharienne, ces iniquités sont pires en raison de l'entrecroisement des systèmes de marginalisation fondés sur la race, le sexe et la classe sociale. Ces immigrants tendent à être plus exposés et moins protégés au milieu de la pandémie. Étant donné le manque d'études sur les expériences des immigrants d'Afrique subsaharienne au Canada, nous abordons ici l'influence des nombreux axes de l'iniquité sur leur santé et leurs moyens de subsistance durant la COVID-19. Notre objectif est de présenter une interprétation scientifique plus vaste des problèmes liés aux iniquités systémiques et à la santé chez les immigrants d'Afrique subsaharienne au Canada et des conséquences qui en découlent pour les défenseurs de la santé publique, les responsables des politiques et le grand public.

Meaning in life and impact of COVID-19 pandemic on African immigrants in the United States.

This study explored the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic impact, with its unprecedented isolation norm and social distancing requirements, on African immigrants in the United States. We focused on the sources of meaning in their daily lives, how they navigated their meaning-making process, and cultural proclivities amidst the official and unofficial mandates for social distancing. Additionally, we investigated the role technologies play in the entire process. A qualitative inquiry conducted virtually generated data from a sample of 20 participants. Results show that African immigrants derive meaning from social relationships, personal life goals, religious faith, service, and good health. The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly threatened participants' core meaning sources, which they rely on for life satisfaction, personal growth, and healing. Various emergent technologies helped in ameliorating the situation by providing conduits for participants to engage, albeit virtually, in most activities that positively impact their lives. This study highlights clinicians' need to integrate meaning in life discussions in their African immigrant patients' care and incorporate congruent technologies as needed.

Food insecurity and social injustice: The plight of urban poor African immigrants in South Africa during the COVID-19 crisis.

We discuss the plight of urban poor African immigrants from the perspective of the right to food (food availability, accessibility and adequacy) for everyone during the COVID-19 in South Africa. Despite their disrupted sources of livelihood, the majority of the African immigrants are without a social welfare safety net and have little hope of benefiting from the Government relief packages. Consequently, it seems that the increase in the triple burden of food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition compounded with social injustice and income inequality is inevitable for the urban poor African immigrants in South Africa. Even though the Government may not have the capacity to address food insecurity by itself, the Government should endeavour to make the limited resources to access food equally available to all with no social injustice. By working hand in hand with foreign national associations, township councillors and other stakeholders, such as the food banks and faith-based organisations, that have stepped forward to try and bridge the widening incapacity of the Government to feed the food insecure, the nexus of food insecurity and social injustice of African immigrants will be alleviated.