MENTAL HEALTH Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Black Americans P eople of color have been disproportionately affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. COVID-19 infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths are 2 to 5 times greater in African American communities in the United States than in white populations. While the pandemic’s disproportionate physical health toll has been well documented, evidence on the pandemic’s mental health toll is scarce. On the one hand, COVID-19 has been viewed by
many as an all-too-common disease, wreaking havoc on communities, killing people, and inflicting financial and emotional hardship for people from all walks of life around the world. However, in the United States, African American communities have been particularly hit hard by both economic losses and mortality from COVID-19 due to legal, social and economic injustices across society, as well as gaps in physical health and access to adequate medical treatment. Intergenerational trauma and systematic racism that black Americans have experienced over the last 400 years have bred conditions that make this historically robust community vulnerable. Those without a safety net of money and family resources have lost health insurance, financial instability, food poverty, and housing as a result of the economic collapse and huge employment losses caused by the pandemic. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide, as well as poor physical health, are all increased by these stresses and losses.
African Americans with mental illnesses are among the most vulnerable, including a higher likelihood of living in poverty, in densely populated areas, or being homeless or incarcerated. They face stigma and marginalization not only because of their mental illness, but also because of prejudice and discrimination based on race and class. The well-publicized and disturbing police brutality instances that have spurred emotionally charged national rallies and a national outcry against racism and injustice have added to the pandemic pressures.
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