Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5B, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees, Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 25;18(17):8932. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18178932.
Health risk communication plays a crucial role in preventing the spread of infectious disease outbreaks such as the current coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Yet, migrants are far too often forgotten in health risk communication responses. We investigate the challenges and efforts made by migrants in Denmark-in the initial months of the pandemic-to access information about COVID-19. We draw on 18 semi-structured interviews conducted in May and June 2020. All interviews are thematically coded and analyzed. Our analysis reveals that many of the migrants faced several challenges, including accessing information in a language understandable to them and navigating constant streams of official news flows issuing instructions about which actions to take. However, we also note that the participating migrants found numerous creative ways to address some of these challenges, often aided by digital tools, helping them access crucial health and risk information. This paper highlights that migrants constitute an underserved group in times of crises. They are vulnerable to getting left behind in pandemic communication responses. However, we also identify key protective factors, social resources, and agentic capabilities, which help them cope with health and risk information deficits. National governments need to take heed of these findings to inform future pandemic responses.
健康风险沟通在预防传染病爆发（如当前的 SARS-CoV-2 冠状病毒）传播方面起着至关重要的作用。然而，在健康风险沟通应对中，移民往往被遗忘。我们调查了丹麦移民在大流行病最初几个月获取有关 COVID-19 信息时所面临的挑战和所做的努力。我们借鉴了 2020 年 5 月和 6 月进行的 18 次半结构化访谈。所有访谈都进行了主题编码和分析。我们的分析表明，许多移民面临着一些挑战，包括以他们能理解的语言获取信息，以及应对不断发布有关应采取哪些行动的官方新闻流。然而，我们也注意到，参与的移民找到了许多有创意的方法来解决其中的一些挑战，这些方法通常借助数字工具来帮助他们获取关键的健康和风险信息。本文强调，在危机时期，移民是一个服务不足的群体。他们在大流行病的沟通应对中容易被忽视。然而，我们也确定了一些关键的保护因素、社会资源和能动能力，这些因素有助于他们应对健康和风险信息的不足。各国政府需要注意这些发现，为未来的大流行病应对提供信息。
