Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown

Anakwe, Adaobi; Majee, Wilson; Noel-London, Kemba; Zachary, Iris; BeLue, Rhonda

doi:10.3390/ijerph18084290

Open AccessArticle

Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown

by

Adaobi Anakwe

^1,*,

Wilson Majee

^2,3,

Kemba Noel-London

⁴

,

Iris Zachary

⁵

and

Rhonda BeLue

⁴

¹

College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA

²

Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

³

Department of Occupational Therapy, University of the Western Cape, Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa

⁴

Department of Health Management and Policy, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA

⁵

Health Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(8), 4290; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084290

Submission received: 11 March 2021 / Revised: 15 April 2021 / Accepted: 16 April 2021 / Published: 18 April 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Behavior during COVID-19)

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Abstract

This study explores African American parents’ experiences with using technology to engage their children in meaningful activities (e.g., e-learning) during COVID-19 and its impact on family health. Eleven African American families were recruited through a local health department program from a rural Midwestern community to participate in semi-structured interviews. Majority of participants reported stresses from feelings of “sink or swim” in a digital world, without supports from schools to effectively provide for their children’s technology needs. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of family-school collaborative engagement and empowerment. Digital technology needs to become part of our school education system so that technology use among African Americans is elevated and families protected against future outbreaks. Further research with a more diverse African American sample is needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; African American; emotional health; family engagement; digital technology divide

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MDPI and ACS Style

Anakwe, A.; Majee, W.; Noel-London, K.; Zachary, I.; BeLue, R. Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4290. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084290

AMA Style

Anakwe A, Majee W, Noel-London K, Zachary I, BeLue R. Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(8):4290. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084290

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anakwe, Adaobi, Wilson Majee, Kemba Noel-London, Iris Zachary, and Rhonda BeLue. 2021. "Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 8: 4290. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084290

APA Style

Anakwe, A., Majee, W., Noel-London, K., Zachary, I., & BeLue, R. (2021). Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), 4290. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084290

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Sink or Swim: Virtual Life Challenges among African American Families during COVID-19 Lockdown

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