Filipino American Nurses: Faith and Professional Communities in the Age of COVID and Anti-Asian Hate

“In the era of Asian hate and Covid, God has been recentered among Filipina Americans nurses; therefore, my research will explore why and how God matters in the age of COVID and Anti-Asian hate among Filipina Americans nurses who possess a clear faith commitment, whom nearly 1/3rd died during the pandemic and persevered despite a 145% Anti-Asian hate spike in 2020. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Aprilfaye Manalang Norfolk State University Contact Me

About this sabbatical grant for researchers

How does God matter to Filipina nurses who possess a faith commitment and worked on the front lines of COVID and in an age of Anti-Asian hate? Nearly 1/3rd of nurses who died due to COVID are of Filipino descent, although they make up only 4% of the nursing population nationwide. At the same time, Anti-Asian hate spiked 145%. Scarce media coverage of these two crises feels like a double erasure. I will publish a scholarly article and will conduct more compelling public scholarship that broadens the scope of my audience—a podcast that is engaging, publicly accessible, and free of jargon. I will draw from my scholarly expertise, deep community connections, conduct 10+ in-depth interviews, and examine the vital role of God and/or church among Filipino-American nurses who possess a faith commitment, in coping with the demands and griefs of the pandemic; specifically, in my hometown of Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads, Virginia , one of the largest Filipino-American communities in the Southeast. Moreover, this project will investigate one of the largest Asian American communities in the South. Little research has explored Asian Americans in the South, let alone their faith in God.