BackgroundImmigrants in New York City (NYC) have higher COVID-19 mortality than the general population. While migrant-serving organizations (MSOs) provide access to a breadth of services, they are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic due to staffing limitations, funding cuts, and resource limitations of communities served.MethodsSix focus-group discussions were conducted to explore the experiences of MSOs in NYC during the COVID-19 pandemic from November 2021 to March 2022. Study participants csomprised a subsample of survey respondents from a larger study identified via lists of MSOs.ResultsTwenty-seven organizational representatives from 11 MSOs across NYC participated in the discussions. In addition to providing information on communities served, services offered, and organizational characteristics, the following themes emerged from the convenings: mental health challenges and resources needed for immigrants; immigration-related challenges; factors exacerbating hardships for immigrants during COVID-19; interorganizational collaborations and partnerships; policy change; and needs/requests of MSOs. MSOs provide a wide range of services as non-profit organizations and use interorganizational collaboration to improve service delivery. The proximity of MSOs to immigrant communities helps providers understand the needs of immigrants relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and factors that shape telehealth services.ConclusionMSOs are important providers and advocates for immigration policy in the US given their relationship with the populations they serve. These findings have implications for how to support MSOs that serve immigrants in NYC. Strategies to achieve this include timelier availability and exchange of information, policies, and research as well as strengthening the experience-based advocacy of these groups.

Project Overview This dataset contains all qualitative and quantitative journaling data collected in “The Pandemic Journaling Project, Subproject 1, PJP - Immigrant Women in NYC” (henceforth PJP-IW/NYC). The Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP) is a combined journaling platform and interdisciplinary, mixed-methods research study developed by anthropologists, with support from a team of colleagues and students across the social sciences, humanities, and health fields. PJP launched in Spring 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic was emerging in the United States. It was created in order to “pre-design an archive” of COVID-19 narratives and experiences and was open to anyone around the world with access to a smartphone or computer. PJP ran on a weekly basis for two years (May 2020 - May 2022). The dataset for the first phase of PJP (PJP-1) can be accessed through the Qualitative Data Repository (QDR). (See Related Data field in Metadata.) PJP-IW/NYC used a modified version of the PJP platform to pursue two research objectives: 1) examine the ongoing challenges associated with COVID-19 among immigrant women to the US living in New York City (NYC), and 2) explore the feasibility and efficacy of an online journaling-based project with vulnerable populations. The project focused on two immigrant populations in NYC that were particularly hard-hit by the pandemic: the South Asian and Latinx immigrant communities. The project ran from February to August 2023, and it was underway when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the COVID-19 global health emergency in May 2023. PJP-IW/NYC was approved as a research study by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Connecticut. Eligibility criteria for participation included: 1) identify as an immigrant, 2) identify as a woman, 3) aged 18 years or more, 4) born in a country in South Asia or Latin America, and 5) currently live in NYC. The interface was accessible in English, Bangla (Bengali), and Spanish. Similarly to PJP-1, participants could create journal entries using their choice of text, images, and/or audio recordings. Data and Data Collection Overview This dataset contains all journal entries and closed-ended survey responses submitted as part of the PJP-IW/NYC study, along with accompanying descriptive and explanatory materials. The dataset includes individual journal entries and accompanying quantitative survey responses from a total of 34 participants, of whom 24 are from South Asia and 10 participants from Latin America. Of the 427 journal entries in total (248 from the South Asian sample and 179 from the Latinx sample), 47 included images and 12 were submitted as audio files. Each time a participant created a journal entry, they could choose to submit it as text or by attaching it as an audio file; an image with accompanying text; or an image with an accompanying audio file. All attached files, regardless of format, are cataloged as they were submitted. As a result, one video file has been cataloged with the images. Twenty-nine of the images consist of photos and one video of hand-written journal entries in Bangla. Some entries are labeled as "dup," which denotes that a participant completed a specific survey (e.g., survey 10) more than once. All data were collected via the Qualtrics survey platform. PJP-IW/NYC participants were introduced to the project by local community-based organization (CBO) partners that serve immigrant women from South Asian and/or Latin American countries. Information about the study was also provided on PJP’s website, an archived version of which is also shared here (Project Webpages). Prospective participants received a code from CBO partners that they then used to access the online eligibility screener. Those deemed eligible were invited to read an online information sheet and give their consent. They were then taken directly to the baseline survey and Week 1 journaling prompts. Participants were asked to provide a single piece of contact information — an email address or mobile phone number — which was then used to distribute subsequent bi-weekly invitations to participate over the next six months. This contact information has been stripped from the dataset and is not accessible to researchers. Each bi-weekly invitation to journal included a link to that week’s journaling prompts and, periodically, several accompanying survey questions, which can be found in “Quantitive Survey Questions.” In addition to journaling, the project also included other research methods that generated data. Around Month 3, participants were invited to participate in an in-depth interview about their experiences of life disruptions associated with COVID-19. Interviews centered on shifts in relationships, jobs, and housing, as well as the ongoing impact of such disruptions on participants’ mental health and perceptions of wellbeing. At the end of the project, at Month 6, they were invited to take an exit survey and/or participate...