Cleaveland Carol, Lee Myeong, Gewa Constance
George Mason University, USA.
Foundation for Food and Agrculture Research (FFAR), USA.
SSM Qual Res Health. 2023 Jun;3:100242. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100242. Epub 2023 Feb 19.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain U.S. population groups have suffered higher rates of infection and mortality than whites, including Latinx. Public health officials blamed these outcomes on overcrowded housing and work in essential industries prior to the vaccine's availability. We sought to illuminate the lived experience of these factors through a qualitative study of undocumented Latinx immigrant workers in the secondary economy (n = 34). This study focuses on the intersectionality of social locations for undocumented Latinx immigrants living in a relatively affluent suburb and working in the construction and service sectors prior to the pandemic. Their narratives revealed how the pandemic created financial precarity through prolonged periods of unemployment and food insecurity. Workers described worry over unpaid bills, and potentially catastrophic episodes in which they treated severe COVID-19 with home remedies. Long spells of unemployment, food insecurity, inability to pay bills and lack of access to healthcare emerged because of socio-political contexts including the nature of low-wage labor and lack of a safety net.
自新冠疫情开始以来，包括拉丁裔在内的某些美国人群体的感染率和死亡率高于白人。公共卫生官员将这些结果归咎于在疫苗可用之前，住房拥挤以及在关键行业工作。我们试图通过对二级经济领域中无证拉丁裔移民工人（n = 34）进行定性研究，来阐明这些因素对他们生活的影响。本研究聚焦于居住在相对富裕郊区、在疫情爆发前从事建筑和服务业的无证拉丁裔移民的社会位置交叉性。他们的叙述揭示了疫情如何通过长期失业和粮食不安全造成经济不稳定。工人们描述了对未付账单的担忧，以及他们用家庭疗法治疗严重新冠病例的潜在灾难性情况。由于包括低薪劳动性质和缺乏安全网在内的社会政治背景，出现了长时间失业、粮食不安全、无力支付账单以及无法获得医疗保健的情况。
