IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i22p15166-d975498.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health Communication and Inequalities in Primary Care Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Ethnic Minorities in the United Kingdom: Lived Experiences and Recommendations

Author

Listed:
  • Winifred Ekezie

    (Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK
    Centre for Ethnic Health Research, University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK)

  • Akilah Maxwell

    (School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK)

  • Margaret Byron

    (School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK)

  • Barbara Czyznikowska

    (Centre for Ethnic Health Research, University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK)

  • Idil Osman

    (School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK)

  • Katie Moylan

    (School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK)

  • Sarah Gong

    (School of Media, Communication and Sociology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK)

  • Manish Pareek

    (Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
    National Institute for Health Research, Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester LE3 9QP, UK)

Abstract

Health Communication is critical in the context of public health and this was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethnic minority groups were significantly impacted during the pandemic; however, communication and information available to them were reported to be insufficient. This study explored the health information communication amongst ethnic communities in relation to their experiences with primary health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research used qualitative methodology using focus groups and semi-structured interviews with community members and leaders from three ethnic minority communities (African-Caribbean, Somali and South Asian) in Leicester, United Kingdom. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and open-coded. Rigour was determined through methodological coherence, appropriate and sufficient sampling, and iterative data collection and analysis. Six focus groups and interviews were conducted with 42 participants. Four overarching themes were identified related to health communication, experiences, services and community recommendations to improve primary care communication. To address primary care inequalities effectively and improve future health communication strategies, experiences from the pandemic should be reflected upon, and positive initiatives infused into the healthcare strategies, especially for ethnic minority communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Winifred Ekezie & Akilah Maxwell & Margaret Byron & Barbara Czyznikowska & Idil Osman & Katie Moylan & Sarah Gong & Manish Pareek, 2022. "Health Communication and Inequalities in Primary Care Access during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Ethnic Minorities in the United Kingdom: Lived Experiences and Recommendations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-23, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15166-:d:975498
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15166/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15166/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daise Fernanda Santos Souza Escobar & Thais Ferreira de Jesus & Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll & Matias Noll, 2020. "Family and School Context: Effects on the Mental Health of Brazilian Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-13, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Miriam Blume & Petra Rattay & Stephanie Hoffmann & Jacob Spallek & Lydia Sander & Raphael Herr & Matthias Richter & Irene Moor & Nico Dragano & Claudia Pischke & Iryna Iashchenko & Claudia Hövener & B, 2021. "Health Inequalities in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review of the Mediating and Moderating Effects of Family Characteristics," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-33, July.
    2. Emma Motrico & Jose A. Salinas-Perez & Maria Luisa Rodero-Cosano & Sonia Conejo-Cerón, 2021. "Editors’ Comments on the Special Issue “Social Determinants of Mental Health”," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-9, April.
    3. Min Yao & Paul I Kadetz & Aissata Mahamadou Sidibe & Yedong Wu & Jiameng Li & Jinping Lyu & Cuiling Ma & Therese Hesketh, 2021. "Teachers’ Perceptions of Student Mental Health in Eastern China: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Michal Molcho & Aoife Gavin & Devon Goodwin, 2021. "Levels of Physical Activity and Mental Health in Adolescents in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-12, February.
    5. Dongying Li & Tess Menotti & Yizhen Ding & Nancy M. Wells, 2021. "Life Course Nature Exposure and Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Future Directions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-28, May.
    6. Ascensión Fumero & Rosario J. Marrero & Alicia Pérez-Albéniz & Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021. "Adolescents’ Bipolar Experiences and Suicide Risk: Well-being and Mental Health Difficulties as Mediators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Julia Dray, 2021. "Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Resilience-Focussed Interventions: A Conceptual Analysis to Inform Future Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-17, July.
    8. Azizah Alyoubi & Elizabeth J. Halstead & Zoe Zambelli & Dagmara Dimitriou, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Mental Health and Sleep in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-16, September.
    9. Xu Chen & Ling Li & Gangwu Lv & Hui Li, 2021. "Parental Behavioral Control and Bullying and Victimization of Rural Adolescents in China: The Roles of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Gender," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-13, April.
    10. Huajun Wu & Zhiyong Cai & Qing Yan & Yi Yu & Ning Neil Yu, 2021. "The Impact of Childhood Left-Behind Experience on the Mental Health of Late Adolescents: Evidence from Chinese College Freshmen," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-12, March.
    11. Melanie Achermann & Juliane Günther & Kirstin Goth & Klaus Schmeck & Simone Munsch & Lars Wöckel, 2022. "Body-Related Attitudes, Personality, and Identity in Female Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa or Other Mental Disorders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Michele da Silva Valadão Fernandes & Thays Martins Vital da Silva & Priscilla Rayanne e Silva Noll & Alexandre Aparecido de Almeida & Matias Noll, 2022. "Depressive Symptoms and Their Associated Factors in Vocational–Technical School Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Katriona O’Sullivan & Serena Clark & Amy McGrane & Nicole Rock & Lydia Burke & Neasa Boyle & Natasha Joksimovic & Kevin Marshall, 2021. "A Qualitative Study of Child and Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ireland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, January.
    14. Javier Ortuño-Sierra & Beatriz Lucas-Molina & Félix Inchausti & Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero, 2021. "Special Issue on Mental Health and Well-Being in Adolescence: Environment and Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-4, March.
    15. Noriko Kameyama & Yukina Morimoto & Ayako Hashimoto & Hiroko Inoue & Ikuko Nagaya & Kozue Nakamura & Toshiko Kuwano, 2021. "The Relationship between Family Meals and Mental Health Problems in Japanese Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-12, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15166-:d:975498. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.