Behavioral & Community Health Research Works

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1636

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Subject: search.filters.subject.COVID-19

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    “People Will Continue to Suffer If the Virus Is Around”: A Qualitative Analysis of Sub-Saharan African Children’s Experiences during the COVID-19 Pandemic
    (MDPI, 2021-05-25) Kallander, Samantha Watters; Gordon, Rebecca; Borzekowski, Dina L.G.
    Children are particularly impressionable and at risk during a global public health crisis, making it important to examine their unique perspectives. To hear and understand sub-Saharan African children’s experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted an exploratory qualitative analysis based on interviews with 51 children, ages 9 to 13, from Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone. Applying the organization of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, we reveal how COVID-19 affected children’s daily lives and domestic challenges, schooling and neighborhood issues, media use (and its relationship to knowledge and fear of the disease), perceptions of the country and government response, and thoughts of religion and hope. Children’s responses differed greatly, but patterns emerged across sex, age, household size, religion, and country. This study offers guidance and recommendations for meeting the needs of children, especially in times of crisis.
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    Experiences of young parents with foster care backgrounds during the COVID-19 pandemic: Brief report
    (2021-12) Shpiegel, Svetlana; Aparicio, Elizabeth
    The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unique challenges to parents of young children due to the closure of schools and childcare centers and increased caregiver burden. These challenges may be especially pronounced for youth with foster care backgrounds, as they often lack family supports and other critical safety nets. This multi-method qualitative study aimed to explore the unique experiences of parenting foster care alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study included 26 young parents ages 18-26, who participated in in-depth interviews or Photovoice sessions between January and March 2021. A structured thematic analysis approach was used to examine youths` accounts. Findings indicated that young parents with foster care backgrounds faced significant challenges due to COVID-19, and often struggled to access critical resources and supports. Implications for policy and practice are discussed below.
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    Brief Report: Perspectives of Foster Care Alumni on COVID-19 Vaccination: Key Findings and a Call to Action
    (2021-06) Shpiegel, Svetlana; Aparicio, Elizabeth M.
    The United States recently surpassed 32 million cases and 570 thousand deaths due to COVID-19. Vaccination of the general population is critical to ending the pandemic, and several highly effective vaccines have now received emergency FDA approval. Young adults are a key group to target for vaccination, as they may be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 and unknowingly spread the virus to others. However, recent research suggests that young adults have concerns about COVID-19 vaccination, particularly if they belong to racial and ethnic minority groups or other marginalized populations. Young people with foster care backgrounds are predominantly Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and their hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination may be exacerbated by public systems mistrust and ineffective messaging channels. To better understand vaccination attitudes among this population, we conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 23 young people ages 18 to 26 who had recently aged out of foster care. All young people in our sample were parents of young children; thus, their attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination have relevance for their own as well as their children’s likelihood of getting vaccinated. As part of this project, participants described their attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and their reasoning for either accepting or declining a vaccine. Interview audio files were transcribed verbatim and rigorously analyzed using a structured approach to thematic analysis.
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    Storms and blossoms: Foster care system alumni parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2021-05) Martínez-García, Genevieve; Sanchez, Alexander; Shpiegel, Svetlana; Ventola, Marissa; Channell Doig, Amara; Jasczyński, Michelle; Smith, Rhoda; Aparicio, Elizabeth
    Our team conducted this PhotoVoice project from January to March 2021. Parenting foster youth and foster system alumni aged 18-26 met for three sessions to use photography to explore their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This photobook was designed as a keepsake for PhotoVoice group participants to be able to share their photographs, experiences, captions, and stories with one another as well as with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Names used in the book are pseudonyms.