RESUMO
Issues addressedTo investigate whether culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Western Sydney have experienced any positive effects during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if so, what these were. MethodsA cross-sectional survey with ten language groups was conducted from 21st March to 9th July 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Participants were recruited through bilingual multicultural health staff and health care interpreter service staff and answered a question, In your life, have you experienced any positive effects from the COVID-19 pandemic? Differences were explored by demographic variables. Free-text responses were thematically coded using the Content Analysis method. Results707 people completed the survey, aged 18 to >70, 49% males and 51% females. Only 161 (23%) of those surveyed reported any positive impacts. There were significant differences in the proportion of those who reported positives based on age (p=0.004), gender (p=0.013), language (p=0.003), health literacy (p=0.014), English language proficiency (p=0.003), education (p=<0.001) and whether participants had children less than 18 years at home (p=0.001). Reporting of positive impacts ranged from 12% for people aged seventy years or older to 30% for the 30-49-year age group. Reporting of positive impacts for different language groups ranged from 9% to 42%. 18% of men reported positive impacts compared to 27% of women, and 18% of people with inadequate health literacy reported positive impacts compared to 26% with adequate health literacy. Content Analysis of open-ended responses showed that, of those that did report positives, the top themes were Family time (44%), Improved self-care (31%) and, Greater connection with others (17%). ConclusionsFrom 21st March to July 9th, 2021, few surveyed participants reported finding any positives because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding is in stark contrast to related research in Australia in a population dominated by adults with English as their first language, carried out in June 2020, in which many more people experienced positives. So whatThe needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds must inform future responses to community crises to facilitate an equitable effect of any collateral positives that may arise.
RESUMO
BackgroundTo manage the COVID-19 pandemic effectively, governments need clear and effective communication. This is a challenge for culturally diverse communities as groups may have different informational needs and information-seeking behaviours. In this paper we present the frequency of information sources for COVID-19 in a culturally diverse area of Sydney, Australia. MethodsThis study reports findings from two surveys. The first recruited participants across 10 languages between March 21 and July 9, 2021. The second provides a point of reference, and was an Australian, nationally-representative sample of English-speaking participants between November 4 - 18, 2020. ResultsFor the survey in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, of 708 participants, mean age was 45.4 years (SE 0.78), and 51% of respondents were female. Across all language groups, 54.7% of participants used Australian official or public broadcasters to find out about COVID-19 (n=421). Australian commercial information sources (54.1%, n=417), social media (51.6%, n=397), and family and friends in Australia (32.7%, n=252) were common sources. Patterns varied substantially across language groups. In the nationally representative survey (n=2313), 67% of participants (n=1540) used Australian official or public broadcasters, with lower proportions for social media (31.9%, n=738) and friends, family or other personal sources (23.1%; n=533). ConclusionAlmost 50% of participants from culturally and linguistically diverse communities did not report using Australian official or public broadcaster as main sources of information. Instead Australian commercial information sources, friends and family, overseas sources and social media were common. Though a crude comparison of the two datasets, this data can guide policy decisions for communication to different community groups. Further analysis is needed to interpret this data. Better understanding of how diverse communities seek and receive COVID-19 health information is imperative as we manage the current COVID-19 outbreak in the Sydney region.
