Intersectionality and COVID-19: Academic Medicine Faculty's Lived Experiences of Well-Being, Workload, and Productivity During the Pandemic.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to utilize an intersectional framework to examine academic faculty's lived experiences during COVID-19. Specifically, we set out to: (1) describe the multiple intersectional identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, rank, caregiver status, disability status) represented by the faculty, (2) examine potential disparities in well-being, workload, and productivity linked to these intersectional factors, and (3) identify qualitative themes endorsed by faculty as they relate to lived experiences during COVID-19. Methods: This was a cross-sectional mixed-methods research study. The Center for Women in Medicine and Science (CWIMS) at the University of Minnesota developed and implemented a survey between February-June of 2021 in response to national reports of disparities in the impacts of COVID-19 on faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections. Results: There were 291 full-time faculty who participated in the study. Quantitative findings indicated that faculty with multiple intersectional identities (e.g., woman+assistant professor+caregiver+underrepresented in medicine) reported greater depression symptoms, work/family conflict, and stress in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Furthermore, faculty with more intersectional identities reported higher clinical workloads and service responsibilities and lower productivity with regard to research article submissions, publications, and grant submissions in contrast to faculty with fewer intersectional identities. Qualitative findings supported quantitative findings and broadened understanding of potential underlying reasons. Conclusions: Findings confirm anecdotal evidence that faculty with lived experiences from multiple intersections may be disproportionately experiencing negative outcomes from the pandemic. These findings can inform decisions about how to address these disparities moving into the next several years with regard to promotion and tenure, burnout and well-being, and faculty retention in academic medical settings. Given these findings, it is also important to intentionally plan responses for future public health crises to prevent continued disparities for faculty with multiple intersectional identities.

Stressful life events and associations with child and family emotional and behavioral well-being in diverse immigrant and refugee populations.

Objective: Although stressful life events (SLEs) have been suggested to be associated with child well-being, few studies have examined SLEs with child and family behavioral and emotional well-being, especially within diverse populations. The current study examined the associations between SLEs and child behavioral and emotional outcomes, in addition to family-level measures of well-being. Method: Children 5-7 years old and their families (n = 150) from 6 racial and ethnic groups (n = 25 each for African American, Hispanic, Hmong, Native American, Somali, White families) participated in this mixed-methods study. Participants were recruited through primary care clinics. Results: Results showed that all racially and ethnically diverse immigrant and refugee families were experiencing SLEs. The majority of diverse children were experiencing emotional and behavioral problems (i.e., hyperactivity, emotional) in the face of SLEs (i.e., combined SLE score, health-related events), with Somali children being at highest risk. Additionally, the majority of diverse families did not experience lower family functioning in response the SLEs, except regarding certain SLEs (i.e., health-related, legal). However, specific families (i.e., Somali) experienced lower family functioning in the face of multiple SLEs. Discussion: Health care practitioners should consider screening and providing extra resources for reducing stress in children, given all children in the study had some emotional and behavioral problems in the face of SLEs. Additionally, it would be important for practitioners to know which families are at greatest risk for experiencing SLEs (i.e., African American, Native American, Somali families) to ensure they are provided with the resources necessary to mitigate the impact of SLEs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).