New Study on Ethno-Cultural Disparities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A group of Canadian researchers, including CSLP members and Project Someone collaborators, recently published a Canadian study that explores the association between pandemic-specific risk factors and the mental health of minority populations.

 The study titled “Ethno-cultural disparities in mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study on the impact of exposure to the virus and COVID-19-related discrimination and stigma on mental health across ethno-cultural groups in Quebec (Canada)” by Diana Miconi, Zhi Yin Li, Rochelle L. Frounfelker, Tara Santavicca, Jude Mary Cénat, the co-holder of the Chair Vivek Venkatesh and Cécile Rousseau looked at sociocultural inequalities in mental health-related to COVID-19 in the Canadian context. 

The findings suggest that “COVID-19-related risk factors, including exposure, discrimination and stigma, jeopardise mental health,” especially “for the Black community.” And researchers signalled “an urgent need for public health authorities and health professionals to advocate against the discrimination of racialised minorities and ensure that mental health services are accessible and culturally sensitive during and in the aftermath of the pandemic.”

A recent grant from the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity (MI4) provided funding for the study. 

You can read or download the open access study here.