Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Aug 15:12:1364260.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1364260. eCollection 2024.

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

Candice A Sternberg  1 , Danelle Richard  1 , Valerie E Daniel  2 , Maurice J Chery  3 , Maika Beauvoir  1 , Dora Marcelin  4 , Aline Francois  5 , Micaelle Titus  6 , April Mann  7 , Maria L Alcaide  1   3   4 , Sannisha K Dale  2
Affiliations

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

Candice A Sternberg et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

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 towards 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.

Conclusion: 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; Haitian Americans; Haitians; Miami-Dade; healthcare; pandemic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AF was employed by Family Action Network Movement. MT is the President/CEO of the Community Health and Empowerment Network. SD is a co-investigator on a Merck & Co. funded project on “A Qualitative Study to Explore Biomedical HIV Prevention Preferences, Challenges and Facilitators among Diverse At-Risk Women Living in the United States” and has served as a workgroup consultant on engaging people living with HIV for Gilead Sciences, Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Charles J., Ovalle D. "COVID-19, a stigma to many, quietly taking a toll on South Florida’s Haitian community." Miami Herald Coronavirus takes a heavy toll on Haitians in South Florida Miami Herald (2020). Available at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/artic... (Accessed May 25, 2024)
    1. Romano SD, Blackstock AJ, Taylor EV. Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Hospitalizations, by Region — United States, March–December 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. (2021) 70:560–565. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7015e2, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Millett GA, Jones AT, Benkeser D, Baral S, Mercer L, Beyrer C, et al. Assessing differential impacts of COVID-19 on black communities. Ann Epidemiol. (2020) 47:37–44. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2020.05.003, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Semé JL, Bivins BL, Sternberg CA, Barnett JD, Junis-Florian T, Nicolas G, et al. The educational, health, and economic impacts of COVID-19 among Haitians in the USA: time for systemic change. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. (2022) 9:2171–9. doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-01156-8, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Miami-Dade County , "About Miami-Dade County." (2022) Available at: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/disclaimer/about-miami-dade-county.page (Accessed June 28, 2024).

Substances

LinkOut - more resources