Discrimination experienced by Asian Canadian and Asian American health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Asian Canadians and Asian Americans face COVID-19-related discrimination. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Asian health care workers dealing with discrimination, with a focus on racial micro-agressions, in Canada and the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We adopted a qualitative descriptive approach. We used convenience and snowball sampling strategies to recruit participants. We conducted individual, in-depth semistructured interviews with Asian health care workers in Canada and the US via videoconferencing between May and September 2020. Eligible participants had to self-identify as Asian and be currently employed as a health care worker with at least 1 year of full-time employment. We used an inductive thematic approach to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Thirty participants were recruited. Fifteen (50%) were Canadians and 15 (50%) were Americans; there were 18 women (60%), 11 men (37%) and 1 nonbinary person. Most of the participants were aged 25-29 years (n = 16, 53%). More than half were nurses (n = 16, 53%); the other participants were attending physicians (n = 5), physiotherapists (n = 3), resident physicians (n = 2), a midwife, a paramedic, a pharmacist and a physician assistant. Two themes emerged from the data: a surge of racial microaggressions related to COVID-19 and a lack of institutional and public acknowledgement. Participants noted that they have experienced an increase in racial microaggressions during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also experienced threats of violence and actual violence. The largely silent organizational response to the challenges being faced by people of Asian descent and the use of disparaging terms such as "China virus" in the early stages of the pandemic were a substantial source of frustration.

INTERPRETATION

Asian health care workers have experienced challenges in dealing with racial microaggressions related to COVID-19 in the US and Canada. More research should be done on the experiences of Asian Americans and Asian Canadians, both during and after the pandemic, and supportive measures should be put in place to protect Asian health care workers.

Standing and Responding in Solidarity with Disenfranchised Immigrant Families in the United States: An Ongoing Call for Action

The status of immigrant families resettled to the United States in the past decade has been fraught with upsurges of governmental policies that have systematically increasing the levels of oppression, violence, and abuses of human rights. The socio-political-economic toll of xenophobic practices on specifically targeted immigrant populations is magnified by the psychological and relational impact they have on individuals, families, and communities. This manuscript is conceptualized as an ongoing call for social action and specific mobilization by mental health professionals in response to the increasing threats to civility and dignity faced by various immigrant communities. The paper is organized in three sections: (a) an overview of the effects of immigration policy on immigrant family experiences; (b) the impact of mental and relational health on immigrant populations; and (c) elaborations of three exemplar community projects designed to support immigrant families. The manuscript concludes with a discussion exploring avenues for promoting a stronger base for solidarity and social action.

Emerging infectious disease and the challenges of social distancing in human and non-human animals

The 'social distancing' that occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in humans provides a powerful illustration of the intimate relationship between infectious disease and social behaviour in animals. Indeed, directly transmitted pathogens have long been considered a major cost of group living in humans and other social animals, as well as a driver of the evolution of group size and social behaviour. As the risk and frequency of emerging infectious diseases rise, the ability of social taxa to respond appropriately to changing infectious disease pressures could mean the difference between persistence and extinction. Here, we examine changes in the social behaviour of humans and wildlife in response to infectious diseases and compare these responses to theoretical expectations. We consider constraints on altering social behaviour in the face of emerging diseases, including the lack of behavioural plasticity, environmental limitations and conflicting pressures from the many benefits of group living. We also explore the ways that social animals can minimize the costs of disease-induced changes to sociality and the unique advantages that humans may have in maintaining the benefits of sociality despite social distancing.

COVID-19-related prejudice toward Asian medical students: A consequence of SARS-CoV-2 fears in Poland

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2 has triggered global panic. We have conducted an anonymous online survey of Asian medical students in Poland to assess whether they experience any form of prejudice related to the ongoing pandemic. As demonstrated, the COVID-19 outbreak had triggered xenophobic reactions toward students of Asian-origin (n=85) before the first SARS-CoV-2 case was confirmed in Poland. Facing prejudice, including discrimination related to COVID-19, may add to feelings of isolation of students of Asian origin who study abroad, and affect career development, especially for students. We recommend that universities should proactively develop policies that support students, faculty, and staff affected by discriminatory behavior both during the current outbreak and in the future. However, preventing such behaviors should also be enforced by national authorities.

Gender-Bashing in Adolescents: Structural Relations with Heterosexual Matrix, Racism/Xenophobia and Attitudes Toward Bullying

BACKGROUND

This study examined the combined influence of gender variables (specifically gender stereotypes, sexism, and genderism/transphobia) as well as racism/xenophobia and attitudes toward bullying roles on gender-bashing.

METHODS

A trans-cultural sample of 2410 Spanish and Portuguese students participated in the study (mean age = 15.13). Structural equation modeling and multiple group analyses were used to examine the relationships among variables.

RESULTS

The model revealed a good fit with the data for the whole sample. Results showed that instrumentality, hostile sexism, genderism/transphobia, racism/xenophobia, and positive attitudes toward the bully were positively correlated with gender-bashing. An inverse pattern was also observed: expressiveness, benevolent sexism, and positive attitudes toward the defender were negatively correlated with gender-bashing. Overall, the eight variables explained 48% of the variance of gender-bashing. Structural relationships among the assessed constructs were equivalent for girls and boys, and for Spain and Portugal.

CONCLUSIONS

These results reveal the need to implement inclusive educational policies to improve school health, which promote expressiveness, egalitarian attitudes, and sexual and cultural diversity.

Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Xenophobic Attitudes: Evidence from Italy During the Ebola Outbreak

The purposes of the current study were twofold: (1) to investigate affective and cognitive responses and social-contextual factors related to Ebola and their intercorrelations in a developed country without widespread Ebola transmission; and (2) to examine the relationships among risk perception of Ebola, levels of knowledge about Ebola, and (blatant and subtle) prejudice toward African immigrants. Between January 2015 and March 2015, an anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 486 Italian adults. Results showed that most participants were not particularly concerned about Ebola and did not feel at risk of acquiring the virus. Cognitive dimensions of risk perception of Ebola (i.e., perceived severity of illness, perceived personal impact, perceived coping efficacy, and likelihood of infection), affective response (or worry) to Ebola, and social-contextual factors (i.e., perceived preparedness of institutions, family members' and friends' levels of worry) were interrelated. Prejudice toward African immigrants was positively related to risk perception of Ebola and negatively related to levels of knowledge about Ebola even when controlling for sociodemographic variables including political preference.

The taunting of parentally bereaved children: an exploratory study

This exploratory study addresses the rarely mentioned, minimally investigated topic of peer taunting of parentally bereaved children. It suggests that social support cannot be adequately conceptualized or measured on an essentially one-dimensional scale from high to low support. The data are derived from lengthy semistructured transcribed research interviews of bereaved children. Using conservative criteria, 7 of the 35 children were found to have experienced direct, raw taunting about their loss. The varied forms of taunting experienced are described, as well as a range of victim reactions. Suggestions of foci for future research are presented.