Coping of Chinese Citizens Living in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for Personal Well-Being and Social Cohesion

Abstract

Chinese citizens in China were the first affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Nevertheless, the disease rapidly spread around the world, leading to the worst pandemic experienced in modern societies. Spain has become one of the countries more severely affected by it, while having a large Chinese community. This study aims to explore the perception of Chinese citizens living in Spain regarding the outbreak in their host country. Communicative interviews were conducted with ten Chinese men and women who had been living in Spain for at least five years. Results show cultural differences in the coping strategies of the Chinese as a response to the pandemic, which differ from those observed by the participants in their fellow Spanish citizens. These findings unveil the potential of integrating the cultural knowledge and coping strategies of migrant groups in the host communities in managing a pandemic, as well as the negative outcomes for social cohesion and well-being from new racism emerging in the context of COVID-19.

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: A systematic review

“…There is some evidence that traditional Chinese medicine may have been used as a means of preventing COVID-19 among Chinese immigrants in Canada ( Bodenmann et al, 2020 , Kong et al, 2020 ). Conversely, migrants may be more likely to comply with preventative measures such as mask wearing, especially those migrating from Asian countries where this is more of a cultural norm ( Guo et al, 2020 , Zhang and Zhao, 2020 ). A questionnaire among 352 Indian, Pakistani, and Nepalese migrants in Hong Kong found migrants expressed certain misconceptions regarding the prevention of COVID-19 infection, but perceived the risk of disease as mild, had positive attitudes regarding its prevention, and implemented recommended disease-preventive measures ( Wong CL and Chow, 2020 ).…”

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: a systematic review

“…There is some evidence that traditional Chinese medicine may have been used as a means of preventing COVID-19 among Chinese immigrants in Canada (124, 129). Conversely, migrants may be more likely to comply with preventative measures such as mask wearing, especially those migrating from Asian countries where this is more of a cultural norm (130, 131). A questionnaire among 352 Indian, Pakistani, and Nepalese migrants in Hong Kong found migrants expressed certain misconceptions regarding the prevention of COVID-19 infection, but perceived the risk of disease as mild, had positive attitudes regarding its prevention, and implemented recommended disease-preventive measures (132).…”

Migration, Embeddedness, and Vulnerability During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Specifically in China, research focused on internal migrants who may have been some of the earliest transmitters during their transit from urban workplaces to rural homeplaces (Liu et al, 2020 ). This research runs parallel with studies that focused on institutional inequalities, and particularly the role of biases, misguided arguments, and even racialization of migrant groups among governments and healthcare practitioners, which led to worse health and well-being among migrants (Germain & Yong, 2020 ; Gottlieb et al, 2020 ; Guo et al, 2020 ; Machado & Goldenberg, 2021 ). Other studies focused on volatile employment conditions among migrant groups (e.g., Ćudić et al, 2020 ), showing how a lack of institutional protection available to unskilled migrant workers, who would be considered already vulnerable in economic terms, increased their economic vulnerability.…”