University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, Duluth, MN, USA.
Department of Global, Cultural, and Language Studies, The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN, USA.
Int J Equity Health. 2022 Sep 22;21(1):137. doi: 10.1186/s12939-022-01743-z.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on the Black/African American population. In addition to the higher infection rates and the worse outcomes, there were other unintended consequences of the pandemic. The study objective was to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the Black/African American community.
A needs assessment was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. To address this specific study objective, an item included in the survey questionnaire asked respondents (n = 183) about their greatest worry related to CODID-19. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to further explore individual and community perceptions.
The areas of greatest concern were Health (41.0%), Family (25.1%), Finances (8.2%), and Education (4.9%). The needs assessment revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the mental health and wellness, healthcare access and utilization, and social aspects of life the Black community. Emerging themes revealed that there was worsening mental health for many, limited healthcare access and under-utilization, and profound disruption of the social cohesive identity of the Black/African American community.
Pre-existing structural inequities are implicated in the mental health impact, as well as the under-utilization of and limited access to healthcare services in the Black/African American population. The impact on social well-being emphasizes the important role of culture in the population health of communities of color, further supporting the need for culturally-responsive public health interventions when targeting these communities.
COVID-19 大流行对非裔美国人造成了不成比例的影响。除了更高的感染率和更糟糕的结果外，大流行还有其他意想不到的后果。本研究旨在确定 COVID-19 对非裔美国社区的影响。
采用混合方法进行需求评估。为了实现这一具体的研究目标，调查问卷中的一个项目询问了 183 名受访者，了解他们对 COVID-19 最担心的事情。进行了访谈和焦点小组讨论，以进一步探讨个人和社区的看法。
最关注的领域是健康（41.0%）、家庭（25.1%）、财务（8.2%）和教育（4.9%）。需求评估显示，COVID-19 大流行对黑人群体的心理健康和健康、医疗保健的获取和利用以及社会生活方面产生了深远影响。新出现的主题表明，许多人的心理健康状况恶化，医疗保健的获取和利用有限，黑人群体的社会凝聚力身份受到严重破坏。
先前存在的结构性不平等现象与非裔美国人的心理健康影响以及医疗保健服务的利用不足和获取受限有关。对社会福祉的影响强调了文化在有色人种社区人群健康中的重要作用，进一步支持在针对这些社区时需要采取文化响应的公共卫生干预措施。
