Black People in Scarborough Experiences with Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented level of human suffering from economic hardship, loss of jobs, increased depression, and anxiety due to loneliness and deaths (ILO, 2021). Black people experienced disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic both in terms of cases of infection and deaths. These have serious mental health implications for many Black households. Consequently, this study critically examines the experiences of the Black population in Scarborough with the COVID-19 pandemic and the coping mechanism they adopted to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their well-being. This qualitative study used purposive and snowball sampling to select 20 Black people who previously enjoyed or continue to partake in the services of the TAIBU Community Health Center and 10 health care professionals comprising two medical doctors and eight nurses to form the research participants. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews via zoom and phone due to COVID-19 restrictions. The data were analyzed using coding and thematizations with the help of NVivo software. The study found a high incidence of anxiety among the participants, particularly at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the COVID-19 coping mechanisms participants adopted include indoor/zoom exercise, driving around, and watching movies. The study recommends more training on how to deal with mental health during a crisis or pandemics.