Utilizing Faith to Help Black Canadian Women Cope with Social Determinants of Health
摘要
In a growing multicultural Canadian society that should strive to honor and respect the pluralistic cultural worldviews of all people, many Black Canadians struggle to cope with the social determinants of health (SDOH). For the purpose of this paper, SDOH refers to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, worship, and age (Salami et al., 2019). These conditions critically analyze the structural inequalities embedded in our society and the socioeconomic factors that affect health, including income, education, employment, housing, food security, gender, early childhood education, and race (Raphael, 2016), all of which significantly impact the lived experiences of Black Canadians. As defined by Abdillahi and Shaw (2020), Black Canadians include individuals, populations, and communities with African or Caribbean roots. For this population, research has shown that anti-Black racism and discrimination are important factors of social inequalities in education, employment, and housing that impact their determinants of health (Abdillahi & Shaw, 2020; Dixon, 2019). Evidently, grave racial disparities in healthcare when addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives heightened for Black Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic, which also influenced SDOH (Ahmed et al., 2021; James, 2010; Blackett et al., 2022). Additionally, the lived experiences of many Black Canadians are shaped by their intersecting identities, including but not limited to gender, race, immigration status, country of origin, socioeconomic status, and language. Faith, which is a salient dimension of Black Canadians intersected identities, is often ignored as a key coping tool for SDOH within this population. For the purpose of this discussion, the term faith denotes one’s personal belief in a divine deity or God. Adopting an intersectional theoretical framework, this article engenders a discussion that strengthens the focus on faith as a source of resilience for Black Canadians. Developed by Crenshaw (1989), intersectional theoretical framework highlights the complex identities of racialized groups who are othered and dehumanized in dominant white colonized spaces and places. In this context, an intersectional theoretical lens emphasizes the value of recognizing the intersecting identities of Black Canadians and the role of faith in helping them navigate SDOH. The lack of literature relating to this topic in the Canadian context restricts the scope to which this issue can be fully discussed across various socio-cultural sectors as well as by mental health professionals ([MHPs], e.g., practitioners, social workers, psychologists, and counselors) who provide services to this population. As such, this discussion draws on the findings of a scoping review study that explored how MHPs support the faith practices of Black Canadian immigrants (Dixon et al., 2022). These findings provide insights into Black Canadians’ use of faith as a coping strategy with SDOH. In this paper, the outcomes derived from this scoping review research inform implications for theory, practice, teaching, research, and policymaking.