Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on women’s health and safety: A study of immigrant survivors of intimate partner violence

Sabri, Bushra; Hartley, M; Saha, Jyoti; Murray, Sarah M.; Glass, Nancy; Campbell, Jacquelyn C.

doi:10.1080/07399332.2020.1833012

Cited by 96 publications

(244 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…COVID-19 may meanwhile pose a barrier to integration for migrants and refugees (62), for example due to the suspension and modification of resettlement schemes (63, 64), and education programmes (63, 65–68). Migrants who are particularly vulnerable may be disproportionality affected by the negative social impact of lockdown (69, 70). Migrants are considered to be especially vulnerable to job loss and economic hardship as a result of COVID-19 (60, 63, 67, 71–77).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: a systematic review

Hayward

Deal

Cheng

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BackgroundMigrants, including refugees, asylum seekers, labour migrants, and undocumented migrants, now constitute a considerable proportion of most high-income countries’ populations, including their skilled and unskilled workforces. Migrants may be at increased risk of COVID-19 due to their health and social circumstances, yet the extent to which they are being affected and their predisposing risk factors are not clearly understood. We did a systematic review to assess clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in migrant populations (cases, hospitalisations, deaths), indirect health and social impacts, and to determine key risk factors.MethodsWe did a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020222135). We searched databases including PubMed, Global Health, Scopus, CINAHL, and pre-print databases (medRxiv) via the WHO Global Research on COVID-19 database to Nov 18, 2020 for peer-reviewed and grey literature pertaining to migrants (defined as foreign born) and COVID-19 in 82 high-income countries. We used our international networks to source national datasets and grey literature. Data were extracted on our primary outcomes (cases, hospitalisations, deaths) and we evaluated secondary outcomes on indirect health and social impacts, and risk factors, using narrative synthesis.Results3016 data sources were screened with 158 from 15 countries included in the analysis (35 data sources for primary outcomes: cases [21], hospitalisations [4]; deaths [15]; 123 for secondary outcomes). We found that migrants are at increased risk of infection and are disproportionately represented among COVID-19 cases. Available datasets suggest a similarly disproportionate representation of migrants in reported COVID-19 deaths, as well as increased all-cause mortality in migrants in some countries in 2020. Undocumented migrants, migrant health and care workers, and migrants housed in camps and labour compounds may have been especially affected. In general, migrants have higher levels of many risk factors and vulnerabilities relevant to COVID-19, including increased exposure to SARS-CoV-2 due to high-risk occupations and overcrowded accommodation, and barriers to health care including inadequate information, language barriers, and reduced entitlement to healthcare coverage related to their immigration status.ConclusionsMigrants in high-income countries are at high risk of exposure to, and infection with, COVID-19. These data are of immediate relevance to national public health responses to the pandemic and should inform policymaking on strategies for reducing transmission of COVID-19 in this population. Robust data on testing uptake and clinical outcomes in migrants, and barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination, are urgently needed, alongside strengthening engagement with diverse migrant groups.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: a systematic review

Hayward

Deal

Cheng

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Fear of deportation, social instability, financial difficulties and unemployment were the main causes of violence against women and abusive situation repetition. Living with the aggressor was an aggravating factor present in all recorded cases (Sabri, Hartley, Saha et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…The victims reported an increased persecution behavior and financial control, restricted access to supplies, documentation and health services since the aggressor spent more time at home. There was also a frequent report of psychological manipulation: the aggressors said that, by leaving the house to try to escape tense situations, women would be infected by COVID-19, or threatened to kick out women and force them to expose themselves to the virus on the streets (Sabri, Hartley, Saha et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Incidents that are assisted by the police, usually, turn abuse situation worse, since women shelter services, considered non-essential, were closed during the pandemic. This forces women to go back to their home after filing a report or external intervention in an aggression situation (Sabri, Hartley, Saha et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of presential relationship shattered the confidence relation established between victim and care provider. Even when these professionals are able to maintain a virtual conference routine, they feel insecure about women well-being veracity (Sabri, Hartley, Saha et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Corona Virus Pandemic and Social Isolation Process Influences on Increased Violence Against Women

Rocha

Silva

Gonçalves

et al. 2021

Int J Innov Educ Res

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Introduction: violence against women is a complex worldwide health problem due to its multicausality. Global background alterations resulting from Corona Virus (Sars-Cov 2) pandemic implicated on the exacerbation of many vulnerabilities, including those that predispose domestic violence. Nowadays this kind of violence is even more intense and reaches significant national and worldwide morbimortality proportions among women. Objectives: to synthetize data described in the literature regarding how the Covid-19 pandemic and social isolation process have affected women lives concerning domestic violence. Methodology: integrative literature review, using a high sensitivity search in the databases Pubmed, Cochrane, Embase and the Virtual Library of Health (VLH) on Dec 07 2020. Ten studies were included in this review. Results: 90% of the studies analyzed presented an increase in intensity and frequency of violence against women after the beginning of social distancing policies. Women that had already suffered any kind of violence before the beginning of the isolation policies are more propense to physical violence during reclusion. Pandemic reduced contact of these women with their informal support network and with health services, culminating in the enhancement of the gravity of cases that are assisted by the system. Conclusion: women are a highly vulnerable population to violence during the pandemic period. Public policies that qualify professionals and facilitate prevention, tracking and intervention of cases are even more necessary.

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Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health Symptoms, and Modifiable Health Factors in Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

et al. 2023

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ImportanceDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) increased. Associations between IPV and mental health symptoms and modifiable health factors early in the pandemic have yet to be explored.ObjectiveTo prospectively investigate the association of IPV with greater risk of mental health symptoms and adverse health factors during the COVID-19 pandemic in 3 cohorts of female participants.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cohort study used observational data from 3 prospective, population-based, longitudinal cohorts in the US: the Nurses’ Health Study II, Growing Up Today Study, and Nurses’ Health Study 3. Data analyzed included baseline and follow-up survey responses about IPV experiences early in the pandemic (March-September 2020); mental health domains of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS); and modifiable health factors (May 2020-October 2021). Female participants (both health care professionals and non–health care workers) aged 21 to 60 years from the 3 cohorts were included in the full analytic sample.ExposuresExperience of IPV measured by the Relationship Assessment Tool and fear of partner.Main Outcomes and MeasuresMental health symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and PTSS, and modifiable health factors, including sleep duration, sleep quality, physical activity, alcohol use, and use of alcohol or other substances to cope with stress.ResultsThe full analytic sample included 13 597 female participants with a mean (SD) age of 44 (10.6) years. Accounting for sociodemographic factors and prepandemic mental health symptoms and correcting for multiple testing, experiencing IPV was associated with higher endorsement of depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.44; 95% CI, 1.38-1.50), anxiety (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.26-1.36), and PTSS (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.15-1.29) in random-effects meta-analyses across the 3 cohorts. The IPV experience was also associated with poorer sleep quality (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16-1.26), shorter sleep duration (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08-1.19), increased use of alcohol (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.06-1.14), and use of alcohol or other substances to cope with stress (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08-1.18) across all cohorts as well as decreased physical activity (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.09-1.26) in the Nurses’ Health Study II only.Conclusions and RelevanceResults of the study showed that IPV experiences at the start of the pandemic were associated with worse mental health symptoms and modifiable health factors for female participants younger than 60 years. Screening and interventions for IPV and related health factors are needed to prevent severe, long-term health consequences.

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Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on women’s health and safety: A study of immigrant survivors of intimate partner violence

Cited by 96 publications

References 16 publications

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: a systematic review

Clinical outcomes and risk factors for COVID-19 among migrant populations in high-income countries: a systematic review

Corona Virus Pandemic and Social Isolation Process Influences on Increased Violence Against Women

Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health Symptoms, and Modifiable Health Factors in Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

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