Afro-Caribbean Population and Coronavirus

The community is disproportionately socially disadvantaged in the United Kingdom, which creates a material barrier to access due to the lack of funds. Professionals in the healthcare sector can expand services and engage in culturally specific provisions to reach the marginalized community. Afro-Caribbean population in the United Kingdom (UK) remains among the most marginalized community that reports the highest prevalence of Coronavirus disease associated with socioeconomic determinants and other diseases.Caribbean blacks have a high prevalence of other diseases that create a high risk for Covid-19 in the population. The community has a high rate of cardiovascular disease (CVD) that results in a high rate of morbidity and mortality and is a risk factor that causes high transmission of Covid-19. The non-communicable disease ravages the low- and middle-income communities. Disparities in accessing healthcare services defined by ethnicity and socioeconomic status of a community expose them to the negative effects of CVD. Genetic risk factors explain the high prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) that affects the Afro-Caribbean population. Larifla et al. (2016) assert that 40-60% of CHD is heritable, which presents a high risk for contracting Covid-19. The distribution of traditional cardiovascular risk factors explains that genetic variations explain the variables of coronary mortality observed in the target population. Lifestyle factors also explain the higher prevalence of coronary diseases among Afro-Caribbean people. Larifla et al. (2016) explain that patients from the group report high coronary heart diseases occurrence among the immigrants in the UK. Diseases remain a determinant factor of high mortality rates among Caribbean population in the country.

The rates of deaths in deprived areas attributed to Covid-19 were double compared to areas where people have access to diagnosis and treatment in the UK. Black Caribbean recorded approximately double the risk to death compared to White British (PHE, 2020). Afro-Caribbeans as marginalized communities live in overcrowded households in deprived areas where they face higher disparities. Statistics indicate that the Black ethnic group reported higher Covid-19 infections at 486 females and 649 males per 100,000 compared to 220 females and 224 males per 100,000 in the White population (PHE, 2020). Black males reported 3.9 times higher rates of morbidity compared to Whites (PHE, 2020). The Caribbean population is 3 times likely to contract Covid-19 to whites as the group represents the highest number of deaths per capita (Platt & Warwick, 2020). The group is likely to work in higher-risk areas that expose them to Covid1-19 transmission. Black Caribbean community exhibited the highest morbidity rates due to Covid-19 associated with economic depravity at 47.21 per 100,000 compared to 27.727 per 100,000 for persons from least deprived areas (Chaudhuri, Chakrabarti, Lima, Chandan, & Bandyopadhyay, 2021). The Caribbean community recorded death rates that were 1.7 higher to general population second only to Pakistan at a rate of 2.7 (Otu, Ahinkorah, Ameyaw, Seidu, & Yaya, 2020). The community is likely to live in disadvantaged areas as an ethnicity that is highly deprived economically and socially in the UK.

Afro-Caribbeans report socioeconomic inequalities and insufficient access to income that heightens their disparity in accessing healthcare services. The group comprises persons that have been born abroad, which presents an additional barrier to accessing healthcare services attributed to cultural and language differences. Black communities report higher rates of hypertension, which creates a risk factor for the target population. Service providers have to create initiatives that can increase access to healthcare services for the Caribbean population in the UK to address their economic disparities. The group lacks the financial capacity to access the required services, which creates a higher disparity rate.

References

Chaudhuri, K., Chakrabarti, A., Lima, J. M., Chandan, J. S., & Bandyopadhyay, S. (2021). The interaction of ethnicity and deprivation on Covid-19 mortality risk: A retrospective ecological study. Scientific Reports, 11(11), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91076-8.

Larifla, L., Beaney, K., FOucan, L., Bongou, J., Michel, C. T., Martino, J., Velayoudom-Cephise, Cooper, J. A., & Humpries, S. E. (2016). Influence of genetic risk factors on coronary heart disease occurrence in Afro-Caribbeans. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 32, 978-985.

Otu, A., Ahinkorah, B. O., Ameyaw, E. K., Seidu, A., & Yaya, S. (2020). One country, two crises: What Covid-19 reveals about health inequalities among BAME communities in the United Kingdom and the sustainability of its health system? International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(189), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-020-01307-z

PHE. (2020). Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19. Public Health England.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data

/file/908434/Disparities_in_the_risk_and_outcomes_of_COVID_August_2020_update.pdf

Platt, L., & Warwick, R. (2020). Are some ethnic groups more vulnerable to COVID-19 than others? Institute for Fiscal Studies. https://ifs.org.uk/uploads/Are-some-ethnic-groups-more-vulnerable-to%20COVID-19-than-others-V2-IFS-Briefing-Note.pdf