Table 3:

Thematic synthesis coding framework

Parent code	Sub-code 1	Sub-code 2	Relevant study quote (reference)
Perceptions of racially minoritized people during pandemics	Phobogenic responses	Xenophobia	‘When you say you’re from Liberia, it would come like a big—like you throw a bomb. People would tell you,―Oh, I don’t want to touch your cart [at work]. I don’t want to get Ebola’ (Smith-Morris, 2017). ‘I was scared about the illegal immigrants [during the epidemic]. I thought maybe one of them might have got into a boat and landed in New York without anyone knowing. We were lucky. There are so many illegal people coming into Chinatown, it’s amazing no one got sick’ (Eichelberger, 2007). ‘Is our lifestyle ’cleaner’ than the lifestyle in Mexico?’ (McCauley et al., 2013)
		Sinophobia	‘The media needs to educate ALL people not to relate the virus only with the Chinese. Just like would you say all Blacks have Ebola, or AIDS? Of course not. This is the same racial mentality. This is how the society has constructed fear towards the Chinese’ (Pang, 2021).
		Negrophobia	‘Many Hong Kong people were unfriendly to me when I first came here. They called me ‘black ghost’, and they kept a distance from me. They labelled us as AIDS carriers, and they were afraid of me. No matter when I went to a shop or a restaurant, I was not welcomed by them’ (Siu, 2015).
		Maskaphobia	‘Apparently when you wear a mask, it sends a signal to the White people, it’s like you’ve got the virus’ (Pang, 2021).
Experiences of pandemic-related racism among racially minoritized people	External	Abuse (verbal & physical)	‘I think now people, those who are not Chinese, they see the coronavirus as a further chance to racially abuse the Chinese. It’s like there’s an increase to racial abuse now. They have another weapon to like aim at you. The previous one is like the standard small eyes’ (Pang, 2021).
		Discrimination in social/public spaces	‘I was shocked when I saw a standing board in front of a store, which said Chinese and Taiwanese were prohibited to enter for prevention of SARS. That’s a discrimination’ (Zheng et al., 2005). ‘Shops in one community reportedly had signs in their windows telling Mexicans to keep out’ (Schoch-Spana et al., 2010).
		Hypersurveillance/avoidance	‘The landlord even warns me that I should not go back to Africa these days, otherwise I have to leave [the flat if I return]. My neighbours have become monitors now, and they keep tracking if I am still coming back every day. I am sure they will report to the landlord if I do not come back for one day’ (Siu, 2015). ‘Wore my friend’s Olympic team China jacket to the gym and a lady moved from next to me to two treadmills down from me as soon as I arrived…I wonder if it will work in Disneyland too’ (Abidin and Zeng, 2020).
	Internal	Fear of discrimination	‘The biggest issue is not the actual virus, but the exclusion, bullying, abuse, and racism. Once you’ve got it, you’ll become scared and lose confidence and hope which will have a longer-term impact’ (Pang, 2021).
		Vicarious racism	‘The Chinese school has a WeChat group where parents talk about things. There was this person whom I know, and her White Dad said don’t be friends with this Chinese girl as he doesn’t want his daughter to get the coronavirus. I feel sad and I’m not friends with this person anymore’ (Pang, 2021).
		Internalized racism	‘I even did not touch Chinese newspapers in the international students’ center of the University for fear of SARS virus left on the paper by others’ (Zheng et al., 2005).
Responses to pandemic-related racism among racially minoritized people	Coping strategies	Camaraderie/community support	‘[The online forum] Subtle Asian Traits is the ‘go to’ arena for airing our grievances and for seeking resonance and support within the East Asian (diaspora) community’ (Abidin and Zeng, 2020).
		Avoidance/silencing	‘Take non-confrontational approaches such as quietly enduring the pain or walking away’ (Abidin and Zeng, 2020).
		Problem solving	‘Local providers reached out to a national [Hispanic] farmworker health organization for assistance in correcting misinformation about migrant and seasonal farmworkers, including the perception that they had higher rates of influenza infection than the larger U.S. population’ (Schoch-Spana et al., 2010).
		Religion/faith	‘Ebola is a punishment from the god, so it [the disease] is brought by the Western people. As we work for them, the god is annoyed with us, too, and so we also have to get the punishment. If it is not because of them, there will not be any Ebola’ (Siu, 2015). ‘Well because I always think that there is a special protection over me that comes from [God] the Father.’(McCauley et al., 2013)
Pandemic-related racism impact on health equity	Structural	Social determinants	‘Lack of sick leave prevents many from seeking care, because they fear losing their jobs, and clinics may be open only during work hours’ (Schoch-Spana et al., 2010).
		Health care accessibility	‘… they did not wear the same set of things and ask the same set of questions when they were seeing other Hong Kong patients. This made me feeling very bad, and made me feeling I am very different and dirty, just because I am an African’ (Siu, 2015). ‘If you’re sick with something and people are stigmatizing you because you are from Mexico, that even makes you more reluctant to seek care.’(Schoch-Spana et al., 2010)
	Individual	Mental health outcomes	‘I felt depressed because Chinese people were blamed for their unhygienic habits or eating wild animals which were said to have resulted in the SARS spreading’ (Zheng et al., 2005). ‘The Chinese community has become more nervous, some has lessened their contacts, and it affects the community lifestyle. We seem to be living alone and get really nervous even when a person just sneezes’ (Pang, 2021).