The Risk Perception of the Chinese Diaspora during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Targeting Cognitive Dissonance through Storytelling.

The global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required risk communications to mitigate the virus' spread. However, social media not only conveyed health information to minimize the contagion, but also distracted from the threat by linking it to an externalized 'other'-primarily those appearing to be of Chinese descent. This disinformation caused the attribution of blame to Chinese people worldwide. In Canada's Greater Toronto Area, Chinese individuals reported widespread public stigma that compounded their risk of contagion; to the degree that it was driven by cognitive dissonance, it generated experiences of social and cultural vulnerability. In this paper, we draw on the aforementioned study's findings to explain how the risk perception and threat appraisal of Chinese diaspora individuals were impacted by different cognitive dissonance pathways. These findings explore how storytelling is a viable intervention with which to target and mitigate cognitive dissonance. Indeed, the mechanisms of cognitive dissonance can modify risk perception and mitigate social and cultural vulnerability, thereby averting potential long-term negative consequences for one's mental health and well-being. We hope our guidance, training educators to target pathways of cognitive dissonance by drawing on storytelling (with humour), can assist them to better convey information in ways that are more inclusive during public health emergencies.

Understanding the Risk of Social Vulnerability for the Chinese Diaspora during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Model Driving Risk Perception and Threat Appraisal of Risk Communication-A Qualitative Study.

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants were among the most socially vulnerable in Western countries. The Chinese diaspora in Canada were one such group due to the widespread cultural stigma surrounding their purported greater susceptibility to transmit and become infected by COVID-19. This paper aims to understand the social vulnerability of the Chinese diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada, during the first wave of COVID-19 from an explanation of their risk perception and threat appraisal of risk communication. We conducted secondary data analysis of 36 interviews using critical realism. The participants self-identified as being of Chinese descent. The results were used to develop a model of how social vulnerability occurred. In brief, cognitive dissonance was discovered to generate conflicts of one's cultural identity, shaped by social structures of (i) stigma of contagion, (ii) ethnic stigma, and (iii) public sentiment, and mediated by participants' threat appraisal and (iv) self-reliance. We assert that risk communicators need to consider their audiences' diverse socialization in crafting messages to modify behaviors, create a sense of responsibility, and mitigate public health threats. A lack of awareness of one's cognitive dissonance driven by cultural vulnerability may heighten their social vulnerability and prevent them from taking action to protect themself from high-risk events.

Anti-Chinese stigma in the Greater Toronto Area during COVID-19: Aiming the spotlight towards community capacity.

Due to the geographic origins of the first major outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, individuals of Chinese ethnic origin around the world have experienced discrimination, xenophobia, and racism during the pandemic. Discriminatory actions have ranged from outright physical aggression to subtle microaggressions. While reports (both media and academic) have highlighted such incidents, this paper argues that when the conversation starts and stops at the reporting of experiences of stigma, the narrative remains as the victimization of the community. Instead, instances of COVID-19 stigma and discrimination are only one aspect of this story, where other aspects include a deeper understanding of the community itself along with an awareness of the capacity that the Chinese diaspora community brings forward to help overcome COVID-19. We focus our discussion on the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Canada, a global urban center that has a sizeable ethnic Chinese diaspora community, and argue that highlighting the early actions that the community took to help broader society in dealing with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic may help to reframe anti-Chinese stigma during the pandemic. These early actions include physical distancing, mask-wearing, sanitation and advocacy. Findings for this case-study are informed by media monitoring and interviews with 83 individuals identifying as ethnically Chinese living across the GTA.

Cultural contexts during a pandemic: a qualitative description of cultural factors that shape protective behaviours in the Chinese-Canadian community.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been significant variations in the level of adoption of public health recommendations across international jurisdictions and between cultural groups. Such variations have contributed to the dissimilar levels of risks associated with this world-changing viral infection and have highlighted the potential role of culture in assigning meaning and importance to personal protective behaviours. The purpose of this study is to describe the cultural factors during the COVID-19 pandemic that shaped protective health behaviours in the Chinese-Canadian community, one of the largest Chinese diasporas outside of Asia. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was employed. Content analysis was used to analyze the data from semi-structured virtual interviews conducted with 83 adult Chinese-Canadian participants residing in a metropolitan area in the Province of Ontario, Canada. FINDINGS: The cultural factors of collectivism, information seeking behaviour, symbolism of masks, and previous experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) emerged as themes driving the early adoption of personal protective behaviours within the Chinese-Canadian community during the first wave of COVID-19. These protective behaviours that emerged prior to the first nation-wide lockdown in Canada included physical distancing, mask use, and self-quarantine beyond what was required at the time. CONCLUSION: These findings have implications for the development of future public health interventions and campaigns targeting personal protective behaviours in this population and other ethnic minority populations with similar characteristics.