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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: As the COVID-19 ravaged the globe and cases exploded rapidly, countries are presented with challenging policy choices to contain and mitigate spread. In Canada, and globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new stratum to the debate concerning the root causes of global and racial health inequities and disparities. Individuals who exist as targets of systemic inequities are not only more susceptible to contracting COVID-19, but they are also more likely to bear the greatest social, economic, and physical burdens. Therefore, data collection that specifically focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the lives and health of African/Black communities worldwide is needed to develop intersectional, culturally-relative, anti-racist/anti-oppression, empowerment-centered interventions and social policies to support affected communities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this review is to investigate the impact and management of COVID-19 on African/Black individuals and communities and understand how anti-black racism and intersectional violence impact the health of African/Black communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study aims to explore scholarship pertaining to the impact of the COVID-19 on Black communities in the global context in multiple languages. We seek to determine how Black communities are impacted, so far as structural violence and systematic racism, health outcomes, and the ways in which attempts have been made to mitigate or manage the consequences of the pandemic and other injurious agents.
METHODS: A systematic search of published literature of quantitative and qualitative studies published on COVID-19 will be conducted in Medline (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (EBSCO), Cochrane Library, PsychInfo (Ovid), CAB Abstracts (Ovid), Scopus (Elsevier), Web of Science (Clarivate), and Global Index Medicus. To be included in the review, studies should include data on COVID-19 in relation to African/Black individuals, population and communities in the global sphere. Studies must discuss racism, oppression, anti-oppression, or systemic/structural violence and be published in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, findings will be synthesized quantitatively (i.e., numerical count), and qualitatively, through thematic analysis. Risk of bias will not be assessed.
RESULTS: Title, abstract and full-text screening concluded in June, 2022, with extraction forthcoming, given the large amount of literature remaining that appears to meet eligibility criteria.
FINDINGS from the scoping review are expected to be published for peer review in 2023.
CONCLUSIONS: This review will collect important data and evidence on African/Black communities related to COVID-19. Moreover, this review could help identify existing gaps in COVID-19 management in African/Black communities and inform future research paradigms. Furthermore, findings can be applied to decision-making for health policy and promotion and potentially influence services provided by healthcare facilities and community organizations around the globe. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT: DERR1-10.2196/40381.
Language: en |