The social responses of Asian communities to COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand has been the focus of Dr Liu's research.
Dr Liangni Sally Liu, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Media and Creative Communication, has had three papers published internationally as a result of her team’s study of social responses to COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on Asian communities.
The papers are the outcome of a Health Research Council grant awarded in 2020, shortly after New Zealand imposed its nationwide level four COVID-19 lockdown.
They explore the stigmatisation of the Asian population in the first two years of the pandemic, focusing on risk perception and self-protection among Asian communities, and Asian mental health, during the pandemic.
Dr Liu says the goal now is to do a follow up study investigating the negative impact of the pandemic on the Asian population, in economic and other terms.
“The Asian population is the second largest ethnic group in New Zealand and has been under-represented in research into COVID-19 responses," she explains.
Data for the initial study was collected in December 2020. The survey produced 402 valid responses, of which 33 per cent came from respondents whose cultural origin was India, and 31 per cent from those whose cultural origin was China. Filipinos made up the third largest group.
Distinguished Professor Nigel French, of Tāwharau Ora School of Veterinary Science, assisted with analysing the survey responses. Professor French is a member of the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group.
“The project came at a critical time early on in the pandemic, when we were closing our borders, initiating lockdowns and there were no vaccines. It was really important to distinguish between different ethnicities and their responses to COVID-19 to help inform policy making," Professor French says.
The study demonstrated that the level of knowledge and awareness among Asians of the dangers posed by the virus were generally very good.
“Even in the first year of the pandemic, compared with other groupings, Asians’ risk perception was really high. They demonstrated a good understanding of the symptoms and of how COVID-19 was transmitted," Dr Liu says.
Over 93 per cent of those surveyed complied with Government recommendations on self-protection, with an emphasis on practicing social distancing and avoiding crowds.
“Mask-wearing is more of a cultural norm in parts of Asia, so it was much easier for Asians to put on a face mask, especially in the first year when there was no mask mandate. It wasn’t the culture for Pākehā to wear face masks, so a lot of people resisted the idea. Asians just wanted to protect themselves and avoid community transmission.
“They had also witnessed the regional outbreak of the SARS virus in 2002/2003 and knew how serious this kind of virus is," Dr Liu notes.
A troubling finding in the survey was the degree to which the Asian population was stigmatised during the pandemic by those blaming China for the outbreak. Research led by team member Professor Richard Siegert from Auckland University of Technology’s Department of Psychology also noted depression and anxiety among the Asian population during the pandemic.
“Our hypothesis is that there was a correlation between the stigmatisation and Asian mental health during that first year of the pandemic. It’s not very strong, but it is definitely there," Dr Liu says.
Dr Sally Liu.
She notes that public health statistics in New Zealand group the Asian population as a whole, despite the fact that the term 'Asian' covers quite diverse communities with very different cultural backgrounds.
“In our survey we divided the Asian population into subgroups. I think there is room for improvement in the way the public health statistics are presented.”
Professor French says that while COVID-19 is no longer considered a public health emergency of international concern, it is important to learn from the pandemic response to avoid making the same mistakes again.
“There’s always the possibility of a COVID-19 resurgence with new variants, but equally we could get other pathogens. We are keeping an eye on influenza, for example.
“This research really highlights the importance of targeting messaging to different groups. There is a clear correlation between risk perception and the likelihood of adopting protection practices.
“We must put measures in place to avoid the development of inequities in levels of awareness of the severity of infection, protection practices and access to vaccines.
“We hope we can do better next time," he says.
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