Sept. 22, 2020
Research will assess mental wellness of immigrant workers during pandemic
Close your eyes and imagine yourself as a newcomer to a country. A place where you might not be comfortable yet with the language, where you might know very few or no people. A place where you are totally burdened in building a new life for yourself and your family from scratch. A place where you are out of your element.
And now, imagine a global pandemic strikes and the routine you did know is gone. For millions of new Canadians, COVID-19 hit them the hardest, and their mental health and wellness is taking a toll.聽
Dr. Turin Tanvir Chowdhury, pictured above,聽specializes in understanding challenges in access to care and unmet needs faced by the socially vulnerable population of society, including new immigrants, refugees, and racial/ethnic communities, with a particular focus on solutions to make things better for the community. His research has been focused on health and wellness literacy, striving to help people learn the tools they need to help themselves.
The Cumming School of Medicine researcher was awarded a , one of the six funded projects at 草莓污视频导航 for researchers working with businesses and community partners from across Canada.
Chowdhury鈥檚 project is working to identify the mental wellness needs for Canadian newcomers working in factory settings during COVID-19, with the aim to support the mental well-being for these communities.
鈥淲e know that the impacts of COVID-19 on our communities are not limited to the physical. It has upended all avenues of our daily life, from the economy, to schools, to caregiving and mental health,鈥 says Dr. William A. Ghali, vice-president (research). 鈥湶葺凼悠档己 researchers have responded in kind, with thoughtful projects that seek to find solutions to the broad array of issues our society faces today, and well into our shared future.鈥
Unique community needs during an unprecedented time
During COVID-19, Chowdhury鈥檚 team and community partners have been creating webinars, online workshop and community online events to make people aware of COVID-19 and mental health and wellness.
鈥淭his funding will help us to do the evidence creation while engaging the community as a partner. We will be able to summarize the evidence and bring the community together to talk about this big issue,鈥 he says.
鈥淚 still feel like a newcomer to Canada, even 10聽years later, and this project came up from my own surroundings and interactions at the grassroots level. COVID was a life-turning situation where everyone was dumbfounded 鈥斅爊obody knew how to handle it,鈥 he says. 鈥淣ewcomers were socioeconomically hit the most. We heard about the cases with Cargill, Superstore, and Walmart 鈥 these people might not have been first responders, but they were among the front lines of service in the community.鈥
Chowdhury explains that the added complexity of gender-cultural norms in the communities, which can view mental health and wellness as a weakness, limited access to mental health services. His informal observations saw an uptick in domestic disturbance, frustration and friction between parents and kids.
鈥淪tress and anxiety about what will happen next, with businesses and stores closing, and unclear continued government support really created an unhealthy situation for mental well-being. These are people who can鈥檛 afford to take a break for their health, and don鈥檛 want to lose their jobs if they aren鈥檛 working,鈥 he says.
Opening the door to discussing mental health and wellness
鈥淐OVID-19 might open the conversation about mental wellness in our newcomer communities,鈥 says Chowdhury. 鈥淚t would be a welcome outcome for me 鈥斅爐hat we talk about our mental well-being more openly and constructively after this.
These discussions were not happening before, as mental health and wellness always has been a stigmatized issue.
Mental health is an issue with newcomers, but it is one of the lowest priorities. He explains that for many, there may be a reservation about appearing weak. For the men in the family, they may see themselves as the provider who needs to be strong. For the women, they may prioritize others ahead of themselves. But in the end, the entire family is suffering.
鈥淚t makes it important that we do our due diligence in acknowledging the gender-cultural differences that are brought to the table, especially in the solutions we find.鈥
Embedding in the community vital to long-term research success
Chowdhury calls this community mental health and well-being research program聽an 鈥榠nfinite game,鈥櫬爏omething that goes beyond a one-time research project. He explains that the success of this research is pinned on the embeddedness of the team itself. It cannot be 鈥榩arachute-in, parachute-out,鈥櫬爓hich has been the more conventional research style in many areas. Community-engaged, -centred, and -based research works to build understanding and prevention 鈥斅爀mpowering communities to learn and do things themselves.
鈥淲e need to build trust and relationships. It has to be us working with them for the long term,鈥 he says. 鈥淔rom high above, everyone looks the same. The closer you get, you can see that people are different and need different things. We know that one size doesn鈥檛 fit all.
鈥淭hrough this work, we will be able to help the broader population. It鈥檚 very easy to resort to checking the box, but if we make a habit of being in the community, these boxes are already checked when you start.鈥
Partnership Engage grants
In response to the early phases of the pandemic crisis, the latest Partnership Engage Grants competition included a special call to address COVID-19-related research. These are one-year grants, with a maximum value of $25,000. The 草莓污视频导航 recipients of this funding are:
- Dr. Heather Boynton, PhD, Faculty of Social Work:聽COVID-19: Children's Intervention Services: Exploring the Lived Experience of Alberta Children's Services' Social Workers during COVID-19
- Dr. Tanvir Chowdhury, PhD, Cumming School of Medicine 鈥撀燜amily Medicine & Community Health Sciences: COVID-19. Identifying Mental Wellness Needs for Racial/Ethnic Minority Factory workers During and Post- Public Health Emergencies: To Inform COVID-19 Response
- Dr. Naomi Lightman, PhD, Faculty of Arts: Caring During the COVID-19 Crisis: Immigrant Women Working in Long-Term Care in Calgary
- Dr. Sheri Madigan, PhD,聽Faculty of Arts: The Caregiver Online PsychoEducation (COPE) Project: A Collaborative Response to the Increased Demand for Child Trauma Services due to COVID-19
- Dr. Lindsay Tedds, PhD, School of Public Policy: COVID-19 and The Financial Crises in the City of Calgary: What have Been the Impacts on the City's User Levies and Property Tax Revenues and What Lessons Can be Learned
- Dr. Rahat Zaidi, PhD, Werklund School of Education: Immigrant Families at a Standstill: Navigating Resettlement During COVID-19
聽is an assistant professor in the departments of Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences in the Cumming School of Medicine. He is also a member of the university鈥檚聽O'Brien Institute for Public Health and聽the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.
is a member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine.聽