Discrimination, disadvantage and disempowerment during COVID-19: a qualitative intrasectional analysis of the lived experiences of an ethnically diverse healthcare workforce in the United Kingdom.
COVID-19 pandemic
Disadvantage
Discrimination
Disempowerment
Healthcare workers
Intersectionality; intrasectionalism
Journal
International journal for equity in health
ISSN: 1475-9276
Titre abrégé: Int J Equity Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101147692
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
23 May 2024
23 May 2024
Historique:
received:
19
06
2023
accepted:
14
05
2024
medline:
24
5
2024
pubmed:
24
5
2024
entrez:
23
5
2024
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in the United Kingdom (UK) have faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these arising out of their social positions. Existing literature explicating these challenges (e.g., lack of appropriate PPE, redeployment, understaffing) have highlighted inequities in how these have been experienced by HCWs based on ethnicity, gender or, job role. In this paper, we move a step ahead and examine how the intersection of these social positions have impacted HCWs' experiences of challenges during the pandemic. We collected qualitative data, using interviews and focus groups, from 164 HCWs from different ethnicities, gender, job roles, migration statuses, and regions in the United Kingdom (UK) between December 2020 and July 2021. Interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone, and recorded with participants' permission. Recordings were transcribed and a hybrid thematic analytical approach integrating inductive data-driven codes with deductive ones informed by an intersectional framework was adopted to analyse the transcripts. Thematic analysis of transcripts identified disempowerment, disadvantage and, discrimination as the three main themes around which HCWs' experiences of challenges were centred, based on their intersecting identities (e.g., ethnicity gender, and/or migration status). Our analysis also acknowledges that disadvantages faced by HCWs were linked to systemic and structural factors at the micro, meso and macro ecosystemic levels. This merging of analysis which is grounded in intersectionality and considers the ecosystemic levels has been termed as 'intrasectionalism'. Our research demonstrates how an intrasectional lens can help better understand how different forms of mutually reinforcing inequities exist at all levels within the healthcare workforce and how these impact HCWs from certain backgrounds who face greater disadvantage, discrimination and disempowerment, particularly during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Healthcare workers (HCWs) in the United Kingdom (UK) have faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these arising out of their social positions. Existing literature explicating these challenges (e.g., lack of appropriate PPE, redeployment, understaffing) have highlighted inequities in how these have been experienced by HCWs based on ethnicity, gender or, job role. In this paper, we move a step ahead and examine how the intersection of these social positions have impacted HCWs' experiences of challenges during the pandemic.
METHODS
METHODS
We collected qualitative data, using interviews and focus groups, from 164 HCWs from different ethnicities, gender, job roles, migration statuses, and regions in the United Kingdom (UK) between December 2020 and July 2021. Interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone, and recorded with participants' permission. Recordings were transcribed and a hybrid thematic analytical approach integrating inductive data-driven codes with deductive ones informed by an intersectional framework was adopted to analyse the transcripts.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Thematic analysis of transcripts identified disempowerment, disadvantage and, discrimination as the three main themes around which HCWs' experiences of challenges were centred, based on their intersecting identities (e.g., ethnicity gender, and/or migration status). Our analysis also acknowledges that disadvantages faced by HCWs were linked to systemic and structural factors at the micro, meso and macro ecosystemic levels. This merging of analysis which is grounded in intersectionality and considers the ecosystemic levels has been termed as 'intrasectionalism'.
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS
Our research demonstrates how an intrasectional lens can help better understand how different forms of mutually reinforcing inequities exist at all levels within the healthcare workforce and how these impact HCWs from certain backgrounds who face greater disadvantage, discrimination and disempowerment, particularly during times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38783292
doi: 10.1186/s12939-024-02198-0
pii: 10.1186/s12939-024-02198-0
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
105Subventions
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Organisme : MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
ID : MR/ V027549/1
Investigateurs
Laura Gray
(L)
Anna L Guyatt
(AL)
Catherine Johns
(C)
Chris I McManus
(CI)
Katherine Woolf
(K)
Ibrahim Abubakar
(I)
Amit Gupta
(A)
Keith R Abrams
(KR)
Martin D Tobin
(MD)
Louise Wain
(L)
Sue Carr
(S)
Edward Dove
(E)
Kamlesh Khunti
(K)
David Ford
(D)
Robert Free
(R)
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s).
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