Uptake of Covid-19 Preventive Measures Among 10 Immigrant Ethnic Groups in Norway

  1. Abdi Gele
  2. Naima Said Sheikh
  3. Prabhjot Kour
  4. Samera A. Qureshi

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Abstract

A pessimistic view of the impact of Covid-19 on immigrants has generated an interest in exploring the role of socio-economic and cultural factors on excess infection, hospitalization and death among immigrants. Nowhere in the world is such interest more palpable than in Western countries, including Norway. An expanding amount of literature has demonstrated that preexisting socio-economic inequalities have affected Covid-19 control programs through a disruption of immigrants' uptake to preventive measures. Nonetheless, until very recently, no qualitative research has been conducted to address the impact of socio-economic and socio-cultural factors on immigrants' uptake on preventive measures of Covid-19 in Norway.

Methods

An interview-based qualitative study consisting of 88 participants (49 women and 39 men) from 10 immigrant ethnic groups were carried out. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling and snowballing. In-depth interviews were held through telephone or online for those who have experience in the use of zoom or teams. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

We found that participants' attitudes toward the pandemic in general, and more specifically their adherence to preventive measures, have increased over time. However, the number of barriers that hinder immigrants from adhering to preventive measures were identified and classified more broadly into three main subthemes: (1) socio-economic barriers; (2) socio-cultural barriers, and (3) other barriers. Socio-economic barriers include overcrowded households, working in first-line jobs, education and language. Socio-cultural barriers include collectivist culture, religious fatalism and risk perception toward the pandemic.

Conclusion

To reduce the health inequality that arises from overcrowded housing, there is a need for a long-term strategy to help improve the housing situation of low-income immigrant families that live in overcrowded households. In addition, increasing health literacy and more generally, the integration of immigrants, may also reduce the effect of socio-cultural factors on an immigrant's uptake of preventive measures.

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  1. Version published to 10.3389/fpubh.2022.809726
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.11.24.21266682: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Ethicsnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Data analyses: The data were transcribed by interviewers, while the transcripts were analyzed using NVivo version 12 by NS and AG.
    NVivo
    suggested: (NVivo, RRID:SCR_014802)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    The study has several limitations, and thus the results should be interpreted with caution. The study has used a qualitative design, with the results based on viewpoints of 88 purposely selected participants; therefore, the results cannot be generalized. However, we argue that the insight provided by the participants is of high relevance in providing tailored services to different immigrant groups, and for future research. Furthermore, participants were partially recruited from a resource group that serves as a breach between health institutions and immigrants, and who provide Covid-19 information to their respective communities in their local languages. Consequently, the information they provided may be partially influenced by their frustration with community members who do not listen and act upon the information provided. However, the interviews were conducted by researchers with a strong competence on migration and health, as well as prior experience with qualitative interviews. Therefore, we are confident that the data were collected professionally, with limited participant- and researcher-related bias. Despite the limitations, the research described in this paper has two main implications. First, the study found that socio-economic factors such as overcrowding households negatively affect an immigrant’s ability to adhere to Covid-19 preventive measures. Overcrowding is a risk factor for various types of ill health, including both somatic and mental health. To reduce the ...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.11.24.21266682v1 on medRxiv