Healthy Disruptions

Jennifer Syvertsen
Anthropology
UC Riverside

In the moment of global COVID-19 upheaval, the pandemic presented new challenges to pre-existent disparities in health and well-being, raising a call for health justice for underserved communities. The Center for Health Disparities Research at UC Riverside (HDR@UCR) created a community-engaged research project entitled “Narrating the Pandemic: Coronavirus Health Disparities,” which brought together faculty and students from the University of California and California State University to capture the experiences of underserved communities in Southern California. To present a snapshot of individual navigation of daily life in the context of collective upheaval, the project centers narratives from diverse communities across Southern California and elucidates concurrent calls for racial justice. In accordance with the core tenets of the project’s community-engaged research design, returning such pandemic stories to the community is vital, as it lays the foundation for community-focused critical dialogue and inspires collaborative action toward health justice. By sharing these collective experiences with the community through our podcast series Healthy Disruptions, we provide access to community experiences that make way for a better understanding of the pandemic’s extensive impact on neighbors, family, and friends.