• Researchers from Charles Sturt invite people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds living in Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Young to participate in new study

Healthcare researchers from Charles Sturt University are inviting residents from four regional NSW communities to take part in a study investigating the connection between COVID-19-related racism and healthcare.

People who identify as coming from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds and have been living in Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Young during the COVID-19 pandemic are invited to take part.

The study, led by Professor of Nursing (Research) Julian Grant and Dr Jessica Biles from the Charles Sturt School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, will investigate whether CALD people from the four NSW towns have experienced racism during the pandemic, and if this race-based discrimination may have affected their healthcare access and equity.

According to Professor Grant there is a lot of evidence that CALD people face additional barriers when it comes to healthcare, particularly during pandemics.

This inspired the research team to conduct a study to identify whether barriers linked to racism are present in regional Australia and identify how they can be redressed for future pandemics.

“The study aims to identify whether experiences of racism have increased during the pandemic as racism can act as a barrier for many people to access equal healthcare,” Professor Grant said.

“By taking part in the study, participants will help our research team to discover important information about how CALD people in regional areas have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the pandemic has introduced additional race-based barriers,” Professor Grant said.

“By identifying this information, we can use it to redress barriers for future pandemics and inform healthcare policy and practice for the current COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.”

Eligible members of the public interested in taking part in the study will be asked to submit their interest through the study’s project website. Via the website people can self-nominate how they would like to be involved in the study, which can include either individual or group online interviews.

The researchers will ask participants a range of questions about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those related to their experiences of racisms.

The Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga and Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia also have information about the study.

The study, ‘COVID-19 healthcare access, equity and regional racisms’, was awarded $30,000 in funding from Charles Sturt’s $200,000 COVID-19 research grants pool.

The study is expected to be completed by December 2020.

Connect with Dr Biles on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Connect with Dr Julian Grant on Twitter and LinkedIn.