Vulnerable Social Groups Research Articles

Investigation and Analysis of the Physical Exercise Status of the Elderly in Qilin District Nursing Home of Qujing City

In the nursing home, the elderly live together, communicate with each other and entertain together. The investigation found that the elderly in Qilin District Nursing Home of Qujing City rarely take part in physical exercise, and the content of the exercise is its single, the most common exercise is jogging, Qigong and Taijiquan. And there are no perfect sports facilities for the elderly to do physical exercise; and no professional social sports instructors to guide the elderly. In addition, the staff in the nursing home will hardly organize collective physical exercise activities or regularly publicize physical exercise knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to study and analyze the physical exercise of the elderly in the nursing homes in this area. This paper focuses on the gender and age of the elderly, the education level, the spouse, the situation and influencing factors, the purpose and motivation of the physical exercise, the frequency and intensity of the physical exercise, and the development of the exercise and enhance the awareness of the elderly physical exercise. According to the data released by National Bureau of Statistics, China began to enter an aging society in 2000, and by 2018, the proportion of the population aged 65 and above reached 11.9%, and the aging degree of the population continues to deepen [1]. The change of population structure has greatly challenged the traditional concept of "raising children for old age", and the social pension with the nursing home as the main body will become an inevitable choice for many elderly people [2]. The nursing home is a professional institution for the elderly, with various necessary facilities for the elderly, which can provide them with convenient conditions such as food, clothing, housing and use. In nursing homes, people of similar age teach them to live together, communicate together and entertain together, which can avoid the loneliness caused by family pension and self-retirement [3]. Because the elderly in the nursing home live together for a long time, it is easy to organize together to participate in sports and fitness activities. However, most of the nursing homes in China are social welfare institutions for the special elderly groups, and the service objects are mostly the most vulnerable social groups, with few service items. There is a lack of specialized talents to provide physical exercise guidance for the elderly, and it is difficult to provide scientific, systematic and effective physical exercise guidance for the elderly. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to study and analyze the current situation of physical exercise for the elderly in nursing homes.

Lessons learned from applied participatory practices in museums and inclusion of people from vulnerable social groups

In the article, the author reflects on contemporary museology and cultural anthropology paradigms that focus on participation and collaboration to include people from vulnerable groups in the museum work. The article presents how the paradigm shift to participation or collaboration changes the epistemological value of experiential knowledge related to cultural heritages and the way museums work. Finally, the author shows how three experimental participatory, collaborative practices in national museums with the change of perspective on people?s role from passive visitors to active collaborators also changed the perspective on their vulnerability and presented a valuable tool for better social inclusion. Through participatory approaches, museums can gain more social relevance in contemporary society.

СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ ФАКТОРЫ СМЕРТНОСТИ МУЖСКОГО НАСЕЛЕНИЯ: РОССИЯ НА МИРОВОМ ФОНЕ

The subject of the study is to assess the mortality rate of the male population in Russia. The purpose of the study is, based on current statistics, to identify the country’s global position in terms of male mortality and the nature of the impact of social fac- tors on it. The relevance of assessing the mortality rate of Russian men against a global background is determined by the urgent need to attract public attention to this issue, which has an impact on the problem of limited labor resources and conscription potential of the country, on the growth of social production, and provokes many social problems associated with the loss of a breadwinner. The scientific novelty is determined by an integrated approach to the study of the factors of high mortality among men while simultaneously identifying the country’s position in global rankings of the state of human potential. The paper used general logical, analytical, statistical and cartographic methods. An attempt has been made to comprehensively consider the causes of high male mortality in Russia. The authors focused on identifying the social factors of this phenomenon. Research results: it was found that the country has taken a leading position in the world in terms of the gap in life expectancy between men and women, and the specific values of male mortality (per 1000 men of all ages) raise the country to the ninth place in the world. Almost 9% of Russian men do not live to be 40, and 35% do not live to be 60. The high mortality rate of the male population of Russia is a consequence of the mutual influence of many factors. However gender differences in mortality from external causes are especially large (five times). The authors conclude that Russian men experience double pressure from social factors of early mortality - complex economic reality and traditional society with its idea of “post-Soviet masculinity”, in the construction of which alcohol, smoking, and neglect of one’s own health played a major role. One of the main tasks today is to turn our attention to the problems of adult men,and to begin to perceive them as a vulnerable social group that also requires support from the state.

Anatomia da cadeia de valor do babaçu para suporte a políticas públicas voltadas a comunidades tradicionais agroextrativistas no Vale do Mearim, Maranhão, Brasil

Abstract: Babassu-nuts are one of the most important socio-biodiversity products in Brazil. Detailed and reliable information on the babassu value chain is essential for local and regional public policies to support the economy associated with the extraction of this product and vulnerable social groups that depend on it for survival. This study presents a methodology to analyze the babassu value chain and discusses results obtained in 2021 from the application of this methodology in Vale do Mearim, Maranhão, the region with the highest babassu production in the country. The study contributes to the evaluation of the accuracy of official statistics on production and involvement in babassu extractive activity and discusses implications for the most relevant public policy for non-timber forest products in Brazil, the Minimum Price Policy for Socio-biodiversity Products (PGPM-Bio). In a territory comprising 25 municipalities, we interviewed about 640 local traders, who purchased 6,000 tons of almonds from 9,000 extractivist families, with an annual average of 661 kg per family. These local traders passed the production to 23 regional traders, who transported it to 11 industrial pressing units for oil production, 8 of them located in the same territory. According to the field research, the volume commercialized corresponds to 27% of the official estimate for the previous year, denoting a reduction in production and in the number of persons engaged in extraction activity much higher than the downward trend indicated by official statistics. Considering that determining the Gross Domestic Product of municipalities, as well as planning and monitoring the implementation of policies such as PGPM-Bio should take into account outreach indicators based on official statistics, the analyses suggest reviewing procedures to obtain annual estimates of babassu extraction.

“To put an end to this damned thing”: Rebutting denialism strategies performed by people in situation of homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemics (Brazil)

In this article we highlight some responses of collective resistance by members of the National Movement of People in Situational Homelessness (MNPR) in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), during the COVID-19 pandemics. In this context, this collective had to face a deep state of crisis, aggravated during the pandemic and as a result of its effects. During the months of July 2020 to August 2022, through a project funded by the National Research Council (CNPQ), we conducted participatory research within vulnerable social groups in order to help them strengthen their social and community organization in the face of the pandemics by analyzing and producing knowledge. The chosen ethnographic approach took place through virtual meetings, telephone contacts and a chat flow during the period in WhatsApp groups. As a result, we contrasted the potent local struggles of this movement with the denialist, negligent and pseudo-scientific attitudes of the Federal Government, which strengthened a genocidal process based on dehumanizing policies of neoliberal nature. We note that, even when the population mentioned dealt with the effects of a pandemic potentiated by structural racism and social exclusion, they organized creative coping strategies, and exemplified, through pedagogies of struggle, growing paths for the practice of citizen science.

ONLINE COUNSELING FOR CHILDREN OF REFUGEE AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED FAMILIES: BARRIERS AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Relevance. The problem of socio-psychological adaptation of refugee and internally displaced families should be considered in the context of the task of general adaptation for migrants and assistance provided at all levels of government with the involvement of psychological and social services of the Russian Federation. The use of online psychological assistance technologies will help to solve a number of important issues related to the speed of assistance, the availability of specialists, etc. The most vulnerable social group are children and adolescents who face diffi culties in adapting to school, in overcoming cultural shock, which does not contribute to full integration into the Russian community. Childhood traumas, as a rule, are an insurmountable barrier to socialization in the future, family, career, and civil. There is a contradiction between the possibilities and limitations of online counseling for children of refugee and internally displaced families. Objective is to assess the barriers of psychological online counseling for children of refugee and internally displaced families in the context of development. Materials and methods of research included online counseling of children from displaced families within the framework of the project “Life goes on”, implemented with a grant from the President of the Russian Federation, presented by the Presidential Grants Fund No. --.  online consultations were conducted within the framework of the family system approach. Main results. The main groups of factors affecting the quality of online counseling for children in a situation of isolation from the usual social environment include the following: ) psychophysiological features (age, manifestations of disinhibition, high level of anxiety, emotional lability, uncontrolled anger); ) the degree of severity of mental traumatization; ) the unpreparedness of the family system for changes. The above factors make it possible to demonstrate the imbalance between the needs and limitations of online care and its proven therapeutic capability [Fedonnikov A. S., ]. Conclusion. Institutionalization of psychological online counseling for families of refugees and internally displaced people is a long-term process for the adaptation and integration of children into the social order at a new place of residence.

Access to Decent Housing in Congolese Urban Areas: Evolution of Associated Factors between 2005 and 2016

The proportion of decent housing found from the data of the 1-2-3/2012 DR Congo survey in urban areas is 7.8%. This situation prompted us to conduct a study on the evolution of factors associated with access to decent housing in urban areas of the DR Congo, based on data from the 1-2-3/2005, 1-2-3/2012 and E-QUIBB/2016 surveys, in order to identify the factors that are determining over time over these three periods. Our specific objectives are to indicate the proportion of decent housing in urban areas of the DR Congo from 2005 to 2016, to find the factors associated with access to decent housing in urban areas of the DR Congo over the three periods, and to study the evolution of these associated factors. In 2005, 2012 and 2016, the proportions of decent housing in urban areas of the country were respectively 4.1%, 9% and 12.3% respectively. The associated factors (in relation to the head of the household) acting over the three periods are: province of residence, socio-professional category, age, housing occupation status, education and gender. These six determinants all evolved over time, resulting in an overall increase in decent housing of about 8%. These results showed that in DR Congo there is not enough investment in housing. Thus, investment by the State and other partners in the construction of low-cost housing, and the facilitation of land and property loans and investment loans, will enable vulnerable social groups, such as young people of both sexes throughout the country, to have easier access to decent housing.

Utjecaj Europskog suda za ljudska prava na postupak posvojenja u Republici Hrvatskoj

In numerous cases related to adoption, the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter: ECtHR) emphasized the importance of a comprehensive approach to the adoption procedure as well as the best interest of the child, taking into account all the circumstances of the case. The denial of the right to consent to adoption leads to the violation of human rights, which is especially manifested to vulnerable social groups. The ECtHR also determined this type of violation of rights in the “Croatian cases” - X. v. Croatia and A.K. and L. v. Croatia, which dealt with the violation of the rights of persons with mental disabilities, more precisely, parents deprived of legal capacity and the right to parental care. The shortcomings determined by the ECtHR influenced the change of the adoption paradigm in the new Croatian family legislation from 2015. Therefore, the paper highlights the importance of a comprehensive approach to the adoption procedure by analyzing the Croatian family legislation and jurisprudence of the ECtHR related to “Croatian cases”. Likewise, newer cases decided by the ECtHR are analyzed, from which guidelines for further improvement of the adoption procedure and the protection of fundamental human rights are derived.

Criminology characteristics and prevention of juvenile crime

The article analyzes the criminological characteristics of minors, features of juvenile crime prevention in Ukraine. The current trends in juvenile delinquency in Ukraine are determined. Attention is focused on the features that determine the specifics of crimes committed by minors. At the same time, the study of this topic is also due to the fact that in recent years the number of crimes committed by minors is gradually increasing, and the actions of young offenders are marked by growing cruelty and cynicism. The psychological features and social factors of such crime have been clarified. Juvenile delinquency is one of the most urgent problems, since this category of persons belongs to the most criminally vulnerable social groups, and also acts as one of the most significant indicators of the criminogenic situation in the country. The domestic legal theory needs a thorough study of the problems of juvenile delinquency, which in the future will ensure the effective socio-economic development of our state. Juvenile delinquency is an important and topical topic for many countries of the world, including Ukraine. And all because young people are the future of the state, who will later change and improve social life, as well as build Ukraine. But the problems associated with the insufficient mechanism of crime prevention are quite serious and complex, and such that they require an immediate solution. In Ukraine, in particular, there are many problems related to the prevention of juvenile delinquency, namely: insufficient implementation of preventive measures at various levels, starting from the development of special legal norms and ending with individual work with adolescents who need attention. This article will consider the most pressing problems related to juvenile delinquency in Ukraine, as well as methods of its prevention. The reasons and conditions that encourage minors to commit illegal acts will also be analyzed, the need to take comprehensive measures to combat juvenile delinquency, using their criminological characteristics, will be emphasized.

Rethinking road network hierarchy towards new accessibility perspectives

Conventional road network hierarchy has focused mainly on facilitating car movement, while (usually) neglecting the rest surface transport modes. This fact resulted in dysfunctional urban environments where a plethora of social, economic and environmental issues are encountered. In this context, serious inequalities regarding urban mobility arise (e.g., inaccessible areas without car, exclusion of vulnerable social groups from a fair transport system, etc.). Therefore, there is an urgent need to bring forth the notion of accessibility and the fair access to opportunities, in transport systems and specifically in road network hierarchy.This study aspires to explore whether the rethinking/reformulating of the road network hierarchy can improve the accessibility level for sustainable modes (public transport and cycling/micromobility) in different transport future paths. To this end, 4 different scenarios that redefine the strategic road network of the study area are developed: 1) Business as Usual (BAU), 2) Car-oriented city, 3) Public Transport Priority, 4) Sustainable Modes Integration. Next, a combinatorial approach evaluating these scenarios is adopted: specifically, the spatial accessibility concerning cars, public transport and cycling/micromobility in each scenario is estimated. This method is applied to the metropolitan area of Athens, Greece which can be considered as a challenging example of a car-oriented metropolis. The main results indicate that the fourth scenario integrating all sustainable modes can improve the accessibility of public transport and cycling, while restraining car dominance in terms of access to opportunities. These findings are particularly useful for researchers and practitioners and could be taken into account for the making of human-oriented cities with a better level of mobility for all in the future.

Recycled EPS insulation plates: critical factors and potentialities for the productive feasibility of a venture in the District of La Plata

Previous research has allowed developing and characterizing an expanded polystyrene waste (EPS) based insulation material that can be used to manufacture plates, providing job opportunities to unemployed or vulnerable social groups. By working together with a local recycling cooperative, the production processes needed for their manufacture on a scale suitable for commercialization were determined. The goal of this research is to analyze these production processes and identify the critical aspects that make the technology’s implementation and management viable. The methodology used involves i. the product’s adaptation; ii. determining supplies and resources for its feasibility; iii. detecting the most critical production processes; and, iv. adapting to the particular case of application. A set of minimum requirements is obtained to develop a productive venture. In addition, the most critical processes related to the separation and obtaining of the EPS and its continuous supply over time, are identified. The results summarize contributions to replicate and make this experience sustainable.

Learning through Play

The text presents an overview of educational programmes held with the exhibition project Toys – Childhood Forever. The programmes were held for different groups of museum visitors: kindergarten groups, elementary and secondary school students, university students, old-age pensioners, members of vulnerable social groups, adult individual visitors and families. The key elements of learning are interactions through play and emotional engagement as essential factors of museum experience.

UN PEACEKEEPING RESOLUTION 1325: WOMEN AS AGENTS OF PEACE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONGO AND LIBERIA

The violence in the African region has been alarming in regard to colonial domination, tribal differences, economic marginalization, majoritarianism, political instability, and civil wars. This research’s key areas of concern are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia, where years of civil wars and political instability have called for an effective course of action. In such a scenario, women are the most vulnerable social gender group in any society, and how they are affected due to an armed conflict also differs from the effects of conflict on men. United Nations Organization introduced peacekeeping Resolution 1325, in the year 2000, which focuses on the impacts of armed conflict and war on women and works for their inclusion in peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes. However, due to many shortcomings in the implementation of this resolution and the lack of accountability and overall cooperation between the recipient states and UNO, this resolution has not been implemented with efficacy in Congo and Liberia. In order to analyze the achievements and failures of this resolution and for the establishment of possible solutions/recommendations for the operational effectiveness of the resolution and the induction of women into peace processes, this research has been conducted. This is a qualitative and deductive research. The research design is based on a descriptive method. The theory used is “Feminism” with a slight reference to Johan Galtung’s model of the violence triangle. The literature used is taken from secondary data, gathered through ‘Purposive Sampling.’ The data analysis conducted is Thematic Analysis, with different sorts of coding methods. However, due to less time and limited access we could only use secondary and nonstructured interviews for the data analysis. The findings are based on a comparative analysis between Congo and Liberia, which claims that Resolution 1325 so far has been the most successful in Liberia, and violence in Congo has continued so far.

Underdog mentality, identity discrimination and access to peer-to-peer lending market: Exploring effects of digital authentication

Vulnerable social groups are often the recipients of statistical discrimination by financial institutions. They therefor try to access the P2P lending market through voluntary digital authentication, but the digital authentication requirements in P2P lending increase taste-based discrimination against these vulnerable groups. Empirical results in this study confirm the existence of education-based and gender-based statistical discrimination even in the Chinese P2P lending market. Digital authentication might alleviate statistical discrimination and increase financial inclusion for these vulnerable groups, but this authentication might also lead to members of vulnerable groups having to pay higher interest rates when seeking loans. The “underdog mentality” concept explains why vulnerable groups voluntarily accept digital authentication, and why they tolerate having to pay higher interest rates for loans P2P they receive.

The Role of Nursing Homes Architectural Design in Mitigating the Risk of COVID-19 Pandemics: The Case of Slovenia

Currently, many older people live in institutions for various social and health reasons. In Slovenia, this proportion is almost 5% of the population aged 65 and over. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly proved to be the most vulnerable social group, as they are exposed to a number of comorbidities that increase the risk of mortality. At that time, nursing homes represented one of the most critical types of housing, as seen from a disproportionate number of infections and deaths among nursing home residents worldwide, including Slovenia. During the emergency, a number of safety protocols had to be followed to prevent the spread of infection. Unfortunately, it turned out that while the safety measures protected the nursing home residents, they also had a negative effect on their mental health, mainly due to isolation and social distancing. It follows that especially in times of epidemics of infectious respiratory diseases, the quality of life in nursing homes requires special attention. In this context, it is also necessary to consider whether and how an appropriate architectural design can help mitigating the spread of infections, while at the same time enable older people to live in dignity and with a minimum of social exclusion. To this end, the present study examined 97 nursing homes in Slovenia, analysing the number of infections in nursing homes and their correlation with the degree of infection in the corresponding region in Slovenia. Additionally, 2 nursing homes were studied in more detail with the use of newly developed “Safe and Connected” evaluation tool, analysing the architectural features of each building. The advantages identified so far include living in smaller units, single rooms with balconies, the possibility of using green open spaces and the use of an adequate ventilation. Conclusions of this study are useful for further consideration of design of new nursing homes and the refurbishment of existing ones.

Social inequity of park accessibility in Taiyuan: highlighting the unfair layout of parks in second-tier cities of China and the relative role of contributors

ABSTRACT The scarcity of public resources and environmental pollution caused by rapid urbanization highlight the practical significance of parks in ensuring the sustainable development of a city. Therefore, the social equity of parks warrants further study. This paper proposes a fine-grained comprehensive evaluation framework that combines geographic accessibility models, geo-statistical analysis, and machine learning algorithms to explore social inequity in Taiyuan, China. In this framework, gini coefficient and lorentz curve express spatial equality, accessibility shows spatial equity, and ridge regression model handles the interdependence of variables with different dimensions to quantify the relative effects of local participants on changes in park accessibility. On this basis, the imbalance between vulnerable groups and park supply is analyzed to further understand the core concept of social equity. Results highlight serious spatial inequality in all three types of parks allocation of six urban areas, especially in community parks. The actual access level of people to parks is also stratified by their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, revealing the social inequity in access to parks. Park distribution is indeed not conducive to some social vulnerable groups, whose contradiction between supply and demand is highly prominent in urban – rural junctions and new urban areas. This paper also confirms the unfair layout of public facilities can be observed in second-tier cities of China by highlighting the social inequity of parks in Taiyuan. The findings of this work have profound implications for urban planning and sustainable development.

IMPACT OF DISTANCE LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

This article describes a new method for identifying the impact of distance learning during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the teaching and learning environment and for developing teachers’ technical skills and attitudes toward distance learning. It is based on a relevant questionnaire filled in by 453 teachers in the Jordanian capital of Amman during the second semester of 2019/2020. Using the two parts of the questionnaire, one of 22 items on the effectiveness of distance learning and one of 15 items on the teachers’ attitudes toward distance learning, the authors have found that distance learning was moderately effective and that the teachers’ attitudes toward distance learning were positive. More particularly, statistically significant differences at a level of α ≤ 0.05 existed between the teachers’ mean scores on the distance learning scale in favor of humanities (t = 13.19). From our findings, we propose establishing a comprehensive assessment system for the distance learning program to monitor its implementation in computer labs; assisting teachers in using the program; implementing tutorials and training lessons for teachers to share their experiences; and providing tablets, computers, or smartphones to students from vulnerable social groups.

Social Vulnerability and COVID-19 Vaccine in Spain.

Different analyses show that the design of vaccination policies should especially protect the most vulnerable social groups, since the level of acceptance is determined by the population's knowledge, attitude and concerns about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. The objective of this work will be to detect the most socially vulnerable groups with respect to COVID-19 and to analyze the factors that influence predisposition to vaccination. This is a cross-sectional study using data from the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) on the Effects and Consequences of Coronavirus (Study 3346 of December 2021). Sociodemographic variables (sex, age, employment status, studies and subjective class identification) were extracted, as well as the answers to the questions indicating the attitude towards vaccination, corresponding to questions 7,8,10 and 11 of the study. The most vulnerable group was lower class women (self-perceived), under 45 years of age with lower educational level, unemployed or performing unpaid work in the home. Most of them are not predisposed to vaccinate only because of the obligation to do so, mainly due to lack of belief in the power and efficacy of vaccines, as well as fear of health risks/collateral side effects. The lower vaccine uptake in this vulnerable population group may be due to a lack of awareness and lower trust in the authorities, as well as the benefits of the vaccine, which could be related to a lack of policy targeting the most socially vulnerable populations.

Prevalence of injected drug use and access to OAT in prison: survey in 7 EU countries, 2014-2018

Abstract Background People in prison report high rates of drug use and drug-related problems and people who use or inject drugs (PWUD) have higher rates of offending and an increased likelihood of spending part of their lives in prison. They represent a vulnerable population with high burden of diseases, socio-economic disadvantages and limited access to healthcare. In this study, we aimed to describe the lifetime prevalence (LTP) of heroin use, injected drug use and opioid agonist therapy (OAT) among people living in prison. Methods Individual data collection was carried out in seven European countries (Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain) between 2014 and 2018 with a model European Questionnaire on Drug use among people in Prison. Risk factors analysis was carried out using multivariate logistic regression model. Results The analysis of EQDP data found that the LTP of heroin use was overall 22.4% (ranged from 7.3% in Poland to 27.5% in Spain). Female, recidivist offenders, individuals aged below 44 and with an history of mental health condition had a higher likelihood of being heroin user (p-value<0.05). The LTP of injected drug use was overall 20.6%(2176/10,587), while the prevalence of injected drug use in prison was 8.1%(745/9273) (with higher prevalence in countries that did not allow OAT initiation in prison: 17.5% in Latvia, 22.1% in Lithuania and 26.7% in Czech Republic). Among those who used heroin, 44.5%(772/1735) had access to OAT and among them 95.8(566/591) had access to OAT in prison. Conclusions Despite the heterogeneity of the results, there is a clear evidence that people in prison have a high prevalence of heroin and injected drug use. Prisons are an important point of access to OAT, and where treatment is available there is a reduction in risk behaviour. It is also important to implement tailored preventive interventions among vulnerable social groups at the community level. Key messages • People in prison in Europe have a high prevalence of heroin and injected drug use. Prisons can represent a point of access to integrated prison-community healthcare and social services for PWUD. • In order to plan adequate healthcare interventions, there is an urgent need to assess and monitor the prevalence of drug use also in other European countries.

COVID-19 and Student Life

While COVID-19 affected all segments of the population, vulnerable social groups, including international students, were disproportionately affected. The primary objective of this study was to explore COVID-19-related experiences of African international graduate students (AIGS). Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with 15 AIGS. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed. Participants reported experiencing fear of the virus and anxiety about their health and their family members (individual), feelings of isolation and depression because of reduced social engagement and lack of familial support (interactional), dealing with work restrictive student visas, and loss of work opportunities (environmental/structural). The person-in-environment (PIE) and Ubuntu philosophy were useful lenses to understand the findings in the context of COVID-19 given its socio-cultural connection to AIGS.Understanding the experiences of AIGS can help inform better approaches, including institutional and national policy changes, to support not only AIGS but also vulnerable international students during pandemics.