Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
BMJ Glob Health. 2024 Nov 4;9(11):e015686. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-015686.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on minoritised ethnic groups in the UK, including newly arrived Roma communities. Employing ethnographic and participatory methods, this study illustrates how systemic barriers, including precarious employment and overcrowded housing, coupled with strategies of identity concealment to avoid stigma, severely restrict access to healthcare among Bulgarian Roma communities in the UK. Drawing from fieldwork in Leicester and London, the research reveals how the pandemic amplified the vulnerabilities of Roma populations, directly linking the effects of the pandemic with broader sociopolitical dynamics, including the uncertainties and discrimination associated with Brexit. The findings point to the critical role of community, mutual and familial support networks as essential survival strategies. However, these social networks are also increasingly depleted, revealing the fragility and limits of informal communal resources. The study calls for the development of inclusive health strategies sensitive to the socio-economic and political complexities affecting marginalised communities in the UK and beyond.
新冠疫情对英国少数族裔群体产生了不成比例的影响，包括新抵达的罗姆人社区。本研究采用民族志和参与式方法，说明了包括不稳定就业和过度拥挤的住房在内的系统性障碍，以及为避免污名化而进行身份隐瞒的策略，如何严重限制了英国保加利亚罗姆人社区获得医疗保健的机会。这项研究在莱斯特和伦敦进行的实地调查揭示了疫情如何放大了罗姆人群体的脆弱性，直接将疫情的影响与更广泛的社会政治动态联系起来，包括与英国脱欧相关的不确定性和歧视。研究结果表明，社区、互助和家庭支持网络是至关重要的生存策略。然而，这些社交网络也在日益枯竭，揭示了非正式社区资源的脆弱性和局限性。该研究呼吁制定对英国乃至全球受影响边缘化社区的社会经济和政治复杂性敏感的包容性健康策略。
