Financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in Portland Maine: a qualitative study.

IF 3.2 3区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Archives of Public Health Pub Date : 2025-02-21 DOI:10.1186/s13690-025-01527-1

Eilish W Carpenter, Claude Rwaganje, Michael Kohut, Elizabeth A Jacobs, Kathleen M Fairfield, Gloria D Sclar

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic not only disproportionately impacted the health of immigrants in the US, but led to financial disparities as well. However, few studies to date capture the experience of asylum-seeking and refugee populations.

Methods: We analyzed semi-structured interviews conducted in fall 2021 with immigrants (primarily asylum-seekers and refugees from countries in Central and East Africa) and key informants, and conducted focus group discussions in spring 2023 with employees of a non-profit supporting the financial needs of asylum-seekers and refugees in Portland, ME.

Results: We identified several ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the financial stability of asylum-seekers and refugees, including: job loss, work permit backlog, lack of sick leave benefits, childcare expenses and related job strain, rising cost of basic goods, issues of housing availability/affordability, and healthcare expenses.

Conclusion: Policy changes that address structural factors and support financial stability among asylum-seekers and refugees and other low-income populations could help mitigate the impact of future public health crises and ultimately improve health equity.

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背景：COVID-19 大流行不仅对美国移民的健康造成了极大的影响，而且还导致了经济差异。然而，迄今为止很少有研究能反映寻求庇护者和难民的经历：我们分析了 2021 年秋季对移民（主要是来自中非和东非国家的寻求庇护者和难民）和主要信息提供者进行的半结构化访谈，并在 2023 年春季对支持密歇根州波特兰市寻求庇护者和难民经济需求的非营利组织的员工进行了焦点小组讨论：我们确定了 COVID-19 大流行对寻求庇护者和难民的经济稳定性产生负面影响的几种方式，包括：失业、工作许可积压、缺乏病假福利、育儿支出和相关工作压力、基本商品成本上升、住房可用性/可负担性问题以及医疗保健支出：针对寻求庇护者和难民以及其他低收入人群的结构性因素并支持其经济稳定的政策变化，有助于减轻未来公共卫生危机的影响，并最终改善健康公平状况。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Archives of Public Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

3.00%

发文量

244

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： rchives of Public Health is a broad scope public health journal, dedicated to publishing all sound science in the field of public health. The journal aims to better the understanding of the health of populations. The journal contributes to public health knowledge, enhances the interaction between research, policy and practice and stimulates public health monitoring and indicator development. The journal considers submissions on health outcomes and their determinants, with clear statements about the public health and policy implications. Archives of Public Health welcomes methodological papers (e.g., on study design and bias), papers on health services research, health economics, community interventions, and epidemiological studies dealing with international comparisons, the determinants of inequality in health, and the environmental, behavioural, social, demographic and occupational correlates of health and diseases.