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Abstract
(1)
Background: This article examines whether connection to digital technologies helps connect young
Indigenous people in Australia to culture, community and country to support good mental
health and well-being and protect against indirect and potentially long-term effects
of COVID-19. (2)
Method: We reviewed literature published between February and November 2020 and policy responses
related to digital strategies. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, government policy
websites and key Indigenous literature sources, identifying 3460 articles. Of these,
30 articles and 26 policy documents were included and analysed to identify existing
and expected mental health outcomes among Indigenous young people associated with
COVID-19 and more broadly. (3)
Results: There are inequities in affordable access to digital technologies. Only 63% of Indigenous
people have access to internet at home. Digital technologies and social media contribute
to strong cultural identity, enhance connections to community and country and improve
mental health and social and emotional well-being outcomes. (4)
Discussion: Access to digital technologies can facilitate healing and cultural continuity, self-determination
and empowerment for young people to thrive, not just survive, in the future. (5)
Conclusion: More targeted policies and funding is urgently needed to promote digital technologies
to enhance Indigenous young people’s access to mental health and well-being services,
maintain cultural connections and evaluate the effectiveness of these initiatives
using Indigenous well-being indicators.
This essay examines the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for health inequalities. It outlines historical and contemporary evidence of inequalities in pandemics—drawing on international research into the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918, the H1N1 outbreak of 2009 and the emerging international estimates of socio-economic, ethnic and geographical inequalities in COVID-19 infection and mortality rates. It then examines how these inequalities in COVID-19 are related to existing inequalities in chronic diseases and the social determinants of health, arguing that we are experiencing a syndemic pandemic. It then explores the potential consequences for health inequalities of the lockdown measures implemented internationally as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the likely unequal impacts of the economic crisis. The essay concludes by reflecting on the longer-term public health policy responses needed to ensure that the COVID-19 pandemic does not increase health inequalities for future generations.
Despite a growing body of epidemiological evidence in recent years documenting the health impacts of racism, the cumulative evidence base has yet to be synthesized in a comprehensive meta-analysis focused specifically on racism as a determinant of health. This meta-analysis reviewed the literature focusing on the relationship between reported racism and mental and physical health outcomes. Data from 293 studies reported in 333 articles published between 1983 and 2013, and conducted predominately in the U.S., were analysed using random effects models and mean weighted effect sizes. Racism was associated with poorer mental health (negative mental health: r = -.23, 95% CI [-.24,-.21], k = 227; positive mental health: r = -.13, 95% CI [-.16,-.10], k = 113), including depression, anxiety, psychological stress and various other outcomes. Racism was also associated with poorer general health (r = -.13 (95% CI [-.18,-.09], k = 30), and poorer physical health (r = -.09, 95% CI [-.12,-.06], k = 50). Moderation effects were found for some outcomes with regard to study and exposure characteristics. Effect sizes of racism on mental health were stronger in cross-sectional compared with longitudinal data and in non-representative samples compared with representative samples. Age, sex, birthplace and education level did not moderate the effects of racism on health. Ethnicity significantly moderated the effect of racism on negative mental health and physical health: the association between racism and negative mental health was significantly stronger for Asian American and Latino(a) American participants compared with African American participants, and the association between racism and physical health was significantly stronger for Latino(a) American participants compared with African American participants. Protocol PROSPERO registration number: CRD42013005464.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed
under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license
(
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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