Meaning in life and impact of COVID-19 pandemic on African immigrants in the United States

Abstract

This study explored the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic impact, with its unprecedented isolation norm and social distancing requirements, on African immigrants in the United States. We focused on the sources of meaning in their daily lives, how they navigated their meaning-making process, and cultural proclivities amidst the official and unofficial mandates for social distancing. Additionally, we investigated the role technologies play in the entire process. A qualitative inquiry conducted virtually generated data from a sample of 20 participants. Results show that African immigrants derive meaning from social relationships, personal life goals, religious faith, service, and good health. The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly threatened participants' core meaning sources, which they rely on for life satisfaction, personal growth, and healing. Various emergent technologies helped in ameliorating the situation by providing conduits for participants to engage, albeit virtually, in most activities that positively impact their lives. This study highlights clinicians' need to integrate meaning in life discussions in their African immigrant patients' care and incorporate congruent technologies as needed.

“Pandemic Fatigue! It’s Been Going On since March 2020”: A Photovoice Study of the Experiences of BIPOC Older Adults and Frontline Healthcare Workers during the Pandemic

“…Focusing on oneself can limit the full potential to heal. It seems the BIPOC older adults in the present study realized that in order to heal, they must be of service to others, exhibiting that pure act of love and connectedness and giving others hope, consistent with the literature [ 4 ].…”

“…The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic illuminated and intensified the long-standing and glaring inequities in healthcare utilization [ 1 , 2 ], education [ 3 ], mental health [ 4 ], socioeconomic indicators [ 5 ], and community resources [ 6 , 7 , 8 ] for older Black, Indigenous, and persons of color (BIPOC) and inadequate protections for BIPOC frontline healthcare workers who serve older adults in the United States [ 9 , 10 ]. It is untenable to separate the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent isolation [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], and the lived experience of BIPOC.…”

“…While photovoice research has been conducted with older adults [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], no published research has explored the struggles of communities of color from two perspectives—older adults and younger frontline healthcare workers and how they found meaning during the pandemic. Challenges of the pandemic (isolation, quarantine) can threaten personal meaning, a significant source of life satisfaction, personal growth, and healing [ 4 ]. There is evidence that meaning has significance in how people make sense of their lives, adjust to certain stressors, and integrate their life stories in ways that help them lead fulfilled and meaningful lives [ 43 ].…”

Searching and Making Meaning of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of African Immigrants in the United States

“…A recent study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on core sources of meaning for sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States found that the pandemic significantly disrupted participants' relationships with friends and their faith, community, personal achievement and goal attainment, and ability to engage in different forms of service (Ekwonye, Ezumah et al, 2021). Further results showed that the pandemic triggered negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger, confusion, despair, nervousness, worry, sadness, isolation, hopelessness, and worthlessness.…”

“…The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant devastation, illness, death, hurt and injury, and severe economic downturn among immigrants (Cazali, 2020;Leicester, 2020). However, only a few studies have aimed at understanding the impact of the pandemic on the psychological health of African immigrants, who make up about 5% of the immigrant population in the United States (Anderson, 2017;Clark et al, 2020;Echeverria-Estrada & Batalova, 2019;Ekwonye, Ezumah et al, 2021). Policy efforts to address health inequities in the United States often leave out African immigrants because they are included in the "Black" category (Okonofua, 2013).…”