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Exploring the Digital Divide among the Bhutanese Refugee Community during COVID-19: Engaged Research in Action

Author

Listed:
  • Jeffrey H. Cohen

    (Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Arati Maleku

    (College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Sudarshan Pyakurel

    (The Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH 43229, USA)

  • Taku Suzuki

    (International Studies, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023, USA)

  • Shambika Raut

    (College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA)

  • Francisco Alejandro Montiel Ishino

    (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA)

Abstract

The digital divide proved a critical barrier to accessing information and healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic and negatively impacted the Bhutanese refugee community. Moving beyond a technological model of the digital divide that highlights a lack of access to computers and the internet, we engaged the community to co-produce a dynamic approach that identifies the impact of socio-cultural and socio-environmental factors as well. Our paper reports on our community-academic research partnership and explores how the digital divide exacerbates health disparities in a midwestern Bhutanese refugee community. Combining the efforts of the community, anthropologists and social workers, this paper reports on the health disparities that confront the community as well as interventions designed to mitigate social inequities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey H. Cohen & Arati Maleku & Sudarshan Pyakurel & Taku Suzuki & Shambika Raut & Francisco Alejandro Montiel Ishino, 2022. "Exploring the Digital Divide among the Bhutanese Refugee Community during COVID-19: Engaged Research in Action," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16854-:d:1004416
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Prieger, James E. & Hu, Wei-Min, 2008. "The broadband digital divide and the nexus of race, competition, and quality," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 150-167, June.
    2. Madhav P. Bhatta & Lori Assad & Sunita Shakya, 2014. "Socio-Demographic and Dietary Factors Associated with Excess Body Weight and Abdominal Obesity among Resettled Bhutanese Refugee Women in Northeast Ohio, United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, June.
    3. James Prieger, 2015. "The broadband digital divide and the benefits of mobile broadband for minorities," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 13(3), pages 373-400, September.
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