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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1364260

Exploring the experiences of Haitians/Haitian Americans in Miami-Dade County, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic: how this community coped with the public health emergency

Provisionally accepted
Candice A. Sternberg Candice A. Sternberg 1*Danelle Richard Danelle Richard 1E V. Daniel E V. Daniel 1Maurice J. Chery Maurice J. Chery 1Maika Beauvoir Maika Beauvoir 1Dora Marcelin Dora Marcelin 1Aline Francois Aline Francois 2Micaelle Titus Micaelle Titus 3Maria L. Alcaide Maria L. Alcaide 1Sannisha K. Dale Sannisha K. Dale 1
  • 1 University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States
  • 2 Family Action Network Movement, Miami, United States
  • 3 Community Health and Empowerment Network, Miami, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective-To explore and describe the experiences of Haitians/Haitian Americans in Miami-Dade County, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their attitudes and practices toward vaccination. Design-We interviewed 15 community members and 15 stakeholders in the Haitian/Haitian American community in Miami-Dade County, Florida using a semi-structured interview guide.The qualitative interviews were conducted between February 4, 2021, and October 1, 2021.They were conducted in both English and Haitian Creole, audio recorded transcribed/ translated, and coded using thematic content analysis.Results-The analyses revealed 9 major themes: (1) thoughts about the pandemic, (2) concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines, (3) healthcare access, February-October 2021, (4) intrapersonal relationship dynamics, (5) thoughts about individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, (6) thoughts about prevention measures (e.g., wearing masks, hand hygiene, social distancing, vaccination), (7) mental health struggles and coping, (8) food insecurity, and (9) overall experiences of the pandemic. The findings reveal that the COVID-19 public health emergency negatively affected Haitians/Haitian Americans across several domains, including employment, healthcare access, personal relationships, and food security.Conclusions: This research echoes the compounding negative experiences reported by multiple disadvantaged groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. From loss of employment to healthcare barriers, the pandemic forced many Haitians/Haitian Americans into greater economic and social instability. Interventions addressing these issues should recognize how these factors may interact and compound the experiences of this group. Health and public health agencies should work alongside community partners to build trust so that preventive efforts will be more readily accepted during public health emergencies.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Haitians, Haitian Americans, healthcare, Miami-Dade, and Pandemic

    Received: 02 Jan 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sternberg, Richard, Daniel, Chery, Beauvoir, Marcelin, Francois, Titus, Alcaide and Dale. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Candice A. Sternberg, University of Miami, Coral Gables, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.