Precarious work and the covid-19 pandemic: the need for a gender equality focus

King, Tania; Maheen, Humaira; Taouk, Yamna; LaMontagne, Anthony D.

doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-072872

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(70 reference statements)

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“…It is very likely that women have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, owing to the double burden of job responsibilities and domestic duties, which encompass tending to their own and their children's health, home schooling their children, stress from food insecurity, the lethal and non-lethal consequences of COVID-19 or even the premature death of a spouse or close relative, especially if this person was an important source of household income (Camarano, 2020;King et al, 2023;Milner et al, 2014;Racine et al, 2021;Santos et al, 2022;Strohmeier & Branje, 2023). One last explanatory hypothesis would be the increase in domestic violence or abuse against women prior to and during pandemic restrictions, since these kinds of victimizations can be exacerbated during crises like outbreaks and natural disasters (Campbell et al, 2023;Kim & Royle, 2023;Kitulwatte et al, 2023;Morgan et al, 2022;Nesset et al, 2021), further increasing women's vulnerability to suicide (MacIsaac et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess suicides in Brazil during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender, regional and age group inequalities

Orellana,

de Souza,

Horta

2023

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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Background: While the COVID-19 pandemic’s total impact on global mortality is uncertain, an estimated 15 million excess deaths occurred during the first two pandemic years, suggesting that a broad impact, since several causes of death showed a substantial rise. Aims: To estimate excess suicides in Brazil and evaluate differences within and between subgroups during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Based on suicide data from the mortality information system of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the expected number of suicides was estimated by age group, gender, 4-month periods and regions through quasi-Poisson generalized additive models. Analyses were performed in R software and RStudio. Results: Between March 2020 and February 2022, 29,295 suicides were reported in Brazil, close to what would be expected (30,116; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): [28,009, 32,224]), albeit in males and females aged 30 to 59 years and 60 years and over, there were excess suicides in at least one of the six 4-month periods evaluated, especially in the second pandemic year. In the Southeast region, a 28% increase was observed in women 60 years and older during the second year. In the North region, suicide increased 23% and 32% among women aged 30 to 59 years during the first and second pandemic years, respectively. The Northeast region had a 16% excess in suicides among men aged 30 to 59 years and 61% among women 60 years old and older during the second pandemic year, reaching 83% in July to October 2021. Conclusions: During the first 2 pandemic years, the pattern of suicides was not homogeneous in Brazil. There were substantial excess suicides in women aged 30 to 59 years from the North and Northeast, while among the elderly and men there was a consistent pattern in several four-month periods throughout Brazil.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess suicides in Brazil during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender, regional and age group inequalities

Orellana,

de Souza,

Horta

2023

Int J Soc Psychiatry

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“… 27 There is some concern that, as the population returns to normal, gender inequalities will be exacerbated due to gender normative roles and expectations. 28 , 29 Accordingly, it is possible that post-COVID caregiving will disproportionately be borne by women in alignment with these gender normative arrangements. Therefore, the mental health impacts of informal care observed among women may persist over the coming years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of informal care on the mental health of caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Fleitas Alfonzo,

Taouk,

Emerson

et al. 2023

Journal of Public Health

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Background Informal care can affect the mental health of caregivers. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated many people into informal care. Little is known about the longitudinal effect of informal care throughout the pandemic. We investigate changes in mental health in relation to changes in informal care between July 2020 and September 2021. Methods Using data from Understanding Society, we applied fixed-effects modelling to assess mental health variations associated with changes in caregiving among 13 557 participants (50 430 observations). Hours of weekly care were categorized as 0, 1–19, ≥20. Mental health was measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a continuous score and a binary indicator. Main analyses were stratified by gender. Results Compared to when delivering 0 hours care/week, the GHQ-12 scores of women providing care for 1–19 hours/week were 0.46 points higher (95%CI: −0.11, 1.09), while their mental health scores were 0.99 higher (95%: 0.08, 1.90) when caring for ≥20 hours/week. Changes on the binary GHQ-12 measure were only evident for women when providing ≥20 hours of weekly care. These changes were not substantial among men. Conclusion Informal care adversely impacted the mental health of women carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Support programmes for informal carers should focus on alleviating caregiving loads in women.

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“… 23 Also limited is understanding how these dynamics differently impact workers at the intersection of social locations, such as racialized and immigrant status and gender. 24 , 25 Our community-based study initially set out to investigate experiences of work-related injury and illness when work is not stable or secure, including experiences with employers, workers’ compensation, and return-to-work. However, as the study commenced during the early stages of the pandemic, an additional focus was to document the impact of COVID-19 on workers, within the Toronto Bangladeshi community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Health and Safety Experiences of Precariously Employed Bangladeshi Immigrant Workers in Toronto During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Premji,

Begum,

Laila

et al. 2024

New Solut

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Racialized immigrants in Canada have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our qualitative, community-based study with South Asian Women and Immigrants’ Services examined the impact of the second and third waves of the pandemic on the work and health of precariously employed Bangladeshi immigrant women and men in Toronto. Our study is based on interviews and focus group discussions with 45 workers, all conducted in Bangla, and 11 key informants. Interviews reveal work transitions, an increase in precarity, work in essential sectors, exposures at work, home and in transit, workplace prevention and management gaps, and an inability to take time off, with significant impacts on workers’ physical and mental health. We discuss the implications of our findings for prevention, preparedness, and response by workplaces and governments to decrease the risk and reduce the impact of infectious diseases emergencies in the precarious work sector.

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Precarious work and the covid-19 pandemic: the need for a gender equality focus

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

Excess suicides in Brazil during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender, regional and age group inequalities

Excess suicides in Brazil during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: Gender, regional and age group inequalities

Impact of informal care on the mental health of caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Health and Safety Experiences of Precariously Employed Bangladeshi Immigrant Workers in Toronto During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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