ABSTRACT
Families often experience public health emergencies, such as disasters and pandemics, together and how they manage these crises can influence their health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, African American (AA) families experienced a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality. Culturally, AA family systems buffer the effect of life stressors by providing social support and cultivate resilience. Crises, however, disrupt family functioning that raises important questions for maintaining the integrity of the AA family system to mitigate adverse effects, strengthen recovery, and foster resilience. This chapter applies a cultural lens to explore the concept of “family as a pandemic response unit.” It focuses on the experiences of AA families during crises. Using the PEN-3 framework, a culturally grounded community health framework with narratives from a pilot project that examined experiences of AA household heads during the COVID-19 pandemic, this chapter highlights the unique challenges these families faced, coping mechanisms used, and local solutions identified for cultivating resilience prior to, during, and after public health emergencies. This chapter creates a cultural understanding on how AA families navigate these emergencies. It further highlights how resources can be tailored to support post-pandemic recovery, foster resilience, and close the disparities gap using a family-strengths perspective.
