Immigrants’ Experiences and Perceptions of COVID-19 Information in Norway

Abstract

When the COVID-19 virus hit the world, immigrants were overrepresented among those infected. In Norway, throughout the pandemic, there were far higher infection rates in people of Somali and Pakistani descent than in the rest of the population. The first aim of this study is to explore the experiences and perceptions of immigrants from Somalia and Pakistan living in Oslo regarding the different sources of COVID-19 information that they referred to at the beginning of the pandemic. The second aim is to suggest and discuss measures to improve practice in the event of a new pandemic. Four semi-structured focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 27 first-generation immigrants from Somalia and Pakistan. The results showed that the immigrants found various COVID-19 information sources to be important. These sources are further presented in three categories: (1) COVID-19 information from the authorities through mass communication; (2) family, friends, and local environments as sources of information; (3) information from religious communities and volunteer resource personnel. We conclude that the participants were active users of available information from different sources and channels. Stigmatization made a negative contribution and religion made a positive contribution to coping and to trust in the authorities.