A qualitative study on health stigma and discrimination in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic
Lessons learnt from a public health perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22086277 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chou Chuen Yu (0000-0002-5212-2662, Geriatric Education and Research Institute, corresponding author), Bernard Tang (Geriatric Education and Research Institute), James A Low (0000-0001-7407-2718, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital), Mathews Mathew (0000-0002-1313-7351, National University of Singapore), Sharon E Straus (0000-0002-6106-832X, St. Michael's Hospital), Sharon Straus, Christine Fahim (0000-0002-6809-7027, St. Michael's Hospital) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Pages | 1143640-1143640 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1143640 |
| PMID | 36935669 |
| OpenAlex | W4322744338 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 44 |
Background: Stigmatisation, misinformation and discrimination have been magnified globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare sector was not spared from this. We conducted a transnational study, using the Health Stigma and Discrimination framework (HSDF) to explore public perception and reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in a multicultural context. Findings from the Asian arm of the study, sited in Singapore, are reported in this paper. Methods: This phenomenological research deployed semi-structured informant interviews using non-probability sampling approaches to recruit members of the public. Interviews were coded independently by two researchers and thematic analysis was used to analyse the responses. Results: Twenty-nine members of the public (23-80 years old) were interviewed between Oct 2020 to Feb 2021. Five major themes were identified: (i) perception of stigma amongst respondents, (ii) experiences of stigma amongst respondents, (iii) views on what drove stigma and misinformation, (iv) facilitators in preventing and reducing stigma and misinformation, and (v) ageist attitudes towards older adults. Overall, construction workers living in dormitories, healthcare workers, and to some extent tourists from China, were perceived to have been stigmatised and shunned by the public. Place-based stigmatisation was common; participants responded by avoiding places that had confirmed cases of COVID-19. Perceived stigma was temporary and not enduring, driven at the outset by fear of being infected. This study also identified the role played by trust in reducing stigmatisation. The relative absence of politicising of issues and high-quality information readily disseminated to the public were reported as factors that could have reduced and prevented stigma and misinformation on the various groups. Ageist attitudes were observed in some participants with older adults being labelled as vulnerable, susceptible to misinformation and being less able to cope during the pandemic. Conclusion: Through the lens of the HSDF, this study provided an exploratory account of the nature of stigma that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic in an Asian context. It also shed light on facilitators in preventing and reducing stigma during an outbreak especially the role of trust and communications during a public health crisis
Disease · Family medicine · Geography · Health care · Misinformation · Pandemic · Perception · Political science · Psychiatry · Public health · Qualitative research · Social stigma · Sociology · Thematic analysis · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
The Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework
Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK
Social Stigma during Covid-19 and its Impact on HCWs Outcomes
Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation About Covid-19
Fear and Stigma
Stigma during the Covid-19 pandemic
Examining Effects of Anticipated Stigma, Centrality, Salience, Internalization, and Outness on Psychological Distress for People with Concealable Stigmatized Identities
Survey of Stress Reactions Among Health Care Workers Involved With the Sars Outbreak
Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Outbreak Inequality
Fear of Covid-19 and the mental health consequences in America
Perceived Stress, Stigma, Traumatic Stress Levels and Coping Responses amongst Residents in Training across Multiple Specialties during Covid-19 Pandemic—A Longitudinal Study
Discrimination and Social Exclusion in the Outbreak of Covid-19
A comparative study on mental health and adaptability between older and younger adults during the Covid-19 circuit breaker in Singapore
I'm more afraid of racism than of the virus!’
Believing and sharing misinformation, fact-checks, and accurate information on social media
Ageism in the time of Covid-19
Cleanliness and prejudice in times of pandemic
The social cohesion investment
Risk Perception and Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) on Work and Personal Lives of Healthcare Workers in Singapore
Asians and Asian Americans’ experiences of racial discrimination during the Covid-19 pandemic
How Right-Leaning Media Coverage of Covid-19 Facilitated the Spread of Misinformation in the Early Stages of the Pandemic in the U.S
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The Bias map
Stigma and Discrimination During Covid-19 Pandemic
A Method of Phenomenological Interviewing
Stigma and misconceptions in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |