Impact the Increased Risk COVID-19 has on the Mental health of Ethnic Minorities

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Ethnic minorities are already at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 due to the numerous disparities within the system as a whole, their mental health should not be suffering too. How could their mental health not suffer though when there is a 0.7-1.9 greater chance of them contracting COVID- 19, a 1.1-3.7 greater chance of being hospitalized, and a 1-2.4 greater chance of them dying compared to white, non-Hispanic people, according to the CDC. On top of this, they have to deal with the disparities within the health care system. This causes ethnic minorities to be provided with less and worse health care if they did need it during the pandemic at which they are at a heightened risk of morbidity and mortality. How are they supposed to truly trust their access to health care services while also facing the challenges of trying to merely receive equal treatment among the less than adequate health care services that they are provided? How are they truly supposed to trust this system at all when stacked with disparities within occupation, education, income, wealth gaps, and housing? A system that modern ethnic minorities must be at a constant battle with in order to try a merely receive basic human rights. With all of this stacked against them it is no wonder the mental health of ethnic minority groups are deteriorating during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.