By using photography as a research tool to spark group discussions, newcomers in Burnaby explored how COVID-19 has affected social connection, and the roles community organizations can have to help us feel more connected.

The Burnaby PCN Social Isolation Working Group (SIWG) is conducting community-based research, investigating how to increase social connectivity in Burnaby during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond to guide Burnaby’s mental health strategy.

The research is split into two phases with Phase 1 (Fall 2021) conducted in English and Phase 2 (Spring 2022) conducted in Tigrinya, Farsi, and Chinese to reach some of Burnaby’s most isolated individuals. The group sessions involved community members self-identifying as isolated recent newcomers of racialized communities, who shared their experiences of social isolation using Photovoice research methodology (a mix of photography and discussions).

The research findings provided insights to the SIWG on how Burnaby community organizations can address barriers to connectivity and how they can build on the opportunities discussed by the community members to ideate innovative and sustainable solutions.

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BACKGROUND

Social isolation can be described as the “disengagement from social ties, institutional connections, or community participation” (BCCDC, 2019) and is a known social determinant of health for many health conditions, including anxiety, depression, addiction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and premature mortality. 

Social isolation is linked to, but is different, from loneliness; social isolation is the objective separation from other people; whereas loneliness is the subjective distressed feeling of being alone as defined by the National Institute of Ageing.

Social connectivity is the opposite of social isolation; it is a sense of belonging to a group or community and is associated with having personal relationships and engagement with the broader community. 

COVID-19 related restrictions have made social isolation worse for most, however, racialized newcomer communities may be made more vulnerable. Yet with all this knowledge, there is limited data on how community agencies can promote social connectivity!

Below are photos describing some of the recent experiences of social connectivity and social isolation that were experienced by participants.

Recent Experiences of Social Connection

Recent Experience	English Group	Farsi Group	Mandarin Group	Tigrinya Group
Loss of day-to-day routine and hobbies	x	x	x	x
Using tech to connect with others	x	x	x	x
Quarantine; spending a lot more time indoors	x	x	x	x
Feeling unwanted; perceived unfriendliness from others	x	x	x	x
Feeling isolated in public spaces	x		x	x
Homesickness	x	x	x
Helplessness		x	x	x
Stress and frustration	x		x	x
Loneliness during the holidays			x	x
Time spent outdoors in nature as an escape	x	x
Using tech to work/study online	x			x

Barriers to Social Connectivity

Barrier	English Group	Farsi Group	Mandarin Group	Tigrinya Group
Fear of catching COVID-19	x	x	x	x
Distance from family and/or core supports	x	x	x	x
Travel restrictions and cost	x	x	x	x
Feeling uncertain in a new cultural environment	x	x	x
Perceived racism & public fear	x	x	x
Language barriers	x		x	x
Drawbacks of using tech	x	x		x
Inconvenience of protective practices	x		x	x
COVID-19 safety recommendations – impacts on child development	x	x		x
Weather making it difficult to socialize outside	x	x
Poor mental health and/or lack of motivation	x	x
Competing priorities (e.g. school, work)	x	x
Cost of living	x		x
Lack of understanding/ hostility from social supports outside Canada		x	x
Closure of existing programming due to pandemic restrictions	x		x
Loss of employment	x		x

Opportunities for Social Connectivity

Opportunity	English Group	Farsi Group	Mandarin Group	Tigrinya Group
Increase awareness of existing programs	x	x	x	x
Leveraging tech to connect socially, and increase access to health and social services	x	x	x	x
Positive mindset	x	x	x	x
Nature as an escape	x	x	x
Return to in-person programming with safety measures	x		x	x
Language supports	x	x	x
Offer innovative program ideas – e.g. that celebrate culture	x	x
Regular, continuous programming	x	x
Increase accessibility of programs; minimize restrictive eligibility criteria	x		x
New job/ volunteer opportunities			x	x
Talking about negative feelings with others		x	x
Small acts of kindness from neighbours	x	x

COMMUNITY PRESENTATION

This project was presented at a community event on November 3, 2022, hosted as a partnership between Immigrant Services Society of BC, Burnaby Intercultural Planning Table, Burnaby Together: Coalition Against Racism & Hate, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, Burnaby Primary Care Networks, Burnaby Division of Family Practice, and Shared Care.

THANK YOU

We are thankful to all our many community members who spent their time sharing their experience and thoughts with our team.

We would also like to thank our partners, listed below: