COVID-19, Stigma and Mental Health: Roots and Solutions

Shoib, Sheikh; Ullah, Irfan; Őri, Dorottya; Saleem, Sheikh Mohd; Hashmi, Nida; Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful

doi:10.1016/j.rcp.2021.10.004

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Hence, in a community such as Rohingya refugees, who are already marginalized and experience health inequity, by virtue of their displacement and refuge, the existing stigma may exacerbate the inequality. In terms of COVID-19, stigma may also create barriers to testing and vaccine hesitancy (Shoib et al, 2021) among this vulnerable population. Hence, policymakers, public health practitioners, and relevant stakeholders working in the camps should undertake interventions to increase the awareness of COVID-19, particularly among the older populations, to counter stigmatization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To curb the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, the government closed all educational institutions, and public and private offices, banned social gatherings, imposed home quarantine, and restricted travel from countries with high infection burden (Banna et al, 2022; Emon et al, 2020). Such restrictive measures, although important to curb the transmission of infection, increased the mental health burden, and also contributed to increased fear and stigma about the disease (Shoib et al, 2021; Venkatesh & Edirappuli, 2020). Several studies conducted in Bangladesh reported high levels of stigma associated with COVID-19 and its related physical and mental health outcomes (Kibria et al, 2022; Mahmud & Islam, 2021; Siddiqi & Khan, 2022).…”

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confidence: 99%

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COVID-19-related stigma among older adults residing in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Anwar,

Yadav,

Huda

et al. 2024

Stigma and Health

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The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its overwhelming physical and mental health burden can stigmatize those affected. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of COVID-19-related stigma and its associated factors among the older people residing in the Rohingya refugee camps of Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 864 older adults aged 60 years and above residing in selected Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. The data were collected using face-to-face interviews conducted between November and December 2021. COVID-19-related stigma was measured using the eight-item Stigma Scale adapted to the Rakhine language. A linear regression model was used to identify the factors associated with COVID-19-related stigma among the participants. Participants, on average, had stigmas on three items and 52.8% had a high COVID-19-related stigma score. The average stigma score was higher among the participants who had formal schooling (β = 0.58, 95% CI [0.21, 0.94]), was dependent on family for a living (β = 0.41, 95% CI [0.12, 0.74]), resided away from health center (β = 0.25, 95% CI [0.01, 0.50]), whose family income decreased during the pandemic (β = 0.27, 95% CI [0.03, 0.51]), had close friends or family members previously diagnosed with COVID-19 (β = 1.64, 95% CI [1.08, 2.20]), and had less communication during the pandemic (β = 1.80, 95% CI [1.24, 2.34]). The study findings suggest raising awareness among the older population on COVID-19 and the mitigating strategies to deal with physical and mental well-being through appropriate health literacy interventions and mass media campaigns in Rohingya camps. Clinical Impact StatementThe present study documented a high prevalence of COVID-19-related stigma among the participants, which can result in severe physical and mental health outcomes and decreased quality of life. High level of COVID-19-related stigma can significantly widen the existing inequity and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among this vulnerable population. Findings suggest that relevant policymakers and public health practitioners should undertake immediate interventions to increase the awareness on COVID-19, particularly targeting the older populations in the camps to reduce their COVID-19-related stigma.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19-related stigma among older adults residing in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Anwar,

Yadav,

Huda

et al. 2024

Stigma and Health

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COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma in patients with depression: a network perspective

Cai

Bai

et al. 2022

Transl Psychiatry

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The association between coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma of having a mental illness is not clear. This study examined the association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma among patients with recurrent depressive disorder (depression hereafter) using network analysis. Participants were 1149 depressed patients (842 men, 307 women) who completed survey measures of perceived stigma and COVID-19 vaccine attitudes. T-tests, chi-square tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare differences in demographic and clinical characteristics between depressed patients who indented to accepted vaccines and those who were hesitant. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses assessed the unique association between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma, independent of depression severity. Network analysis examined item-level relations between COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma after controlling for depressive symptoms. Altogether, 617 depressed patients (53.7%, 95 confidence intervals (CI) %: 50.82–56.58%) reported they would accept future COVID-19 vaccination. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated higher perceived stigma scores predicted lower levels of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance (β = −0.125, P < 0.001), even after controlling for depression severity. In the network model of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and perceived stigma nodes, “Feel others avoid me because of my illness”, “Feel useless”, and “Feel less competent than I did before” were the most influential symptoms. Furthermore, “COVID-19 vaccination acceptance” had the strongest connections with illness stigma items reflecting social rejection or social isolation concerns (“Employers/co-workers have discriminated”, “Treated with less respect than usual”, “Sense of being unequal in my relationships with others”). Given that a substantial proportion of depressed patients reported hesitancy with accepting COVID-19 vaccines and experiences of mental illness stigma related to social rejection and social isolation, providers working with this group should provide interventions to reduce stigma concerns toward addressing reluctance in receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

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A multi-country study of the associations between HIV vulnerability status, perception of COVID-19 related stigma and post-traumatic stress symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic

et al. 2023

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Background This study investigated the associations between COVID-19 related stigma and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS); and the associations between PTSS and COVID-19 related stigma, HIV status, COVID-19 status and key HIV population status. Methods This was a secondary analysis of data of 12,355 study participants generated through an online survey that recruited adults from 152 countries between July and December 2020. The dependent variables were COVID-19-related stigma and PTSS. The independent variables were HIV status (positive/negative), transaction sex (yes/no), use of psychoactive drugs (yes/no), and vulnerability status (transaction sex workers, people who use psychoactive drugs, living with HIV, and COVID-19 status). The confounding variables were age, sex at birth (male/female), level of education, sexual minority individuals (yes/no) and country income level. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between the dependent and independent variables after adjusting for confounders. Results There were 835 (6.8%) participants who experienced COVID-19 related stigma during the pandemic and 3,824 (31.0%) participants reported PTSS. Respondents who were living with HIV (AOR: 1.979; 95%CI: 1.522–2.573), tested positive for COVID-19 (AOR: 3.369; 95%CI: 2.692–4.217), engaged in transactional sex (AOR: 1.428; 95%CI: 1.060–1.922) and used psychoactive drugs (AOR: 1.364; 95%CI: 1.053–1.767) had significantly higher odds of experiencing COVID-19 related stigma. Individuals with vulnerability status (AOR:4.610; 95%CI: 1.590-13.368) and who experienced COVID-19 related stigma (AOR: 2.218; 95%CI: 1.920–2.561) had significantly higher odds of PTSS. Conclusion Individuals with vulnerability status may be at increased risk for COVID-19 related stigma. Key and vulnerable populations who were living with HIV and who experienced stigma may be at a higher risk of experiencing PTSS. Populations at risk for PTSS should be routinely screened and provided adequate support when they contract COVID-19 to reduce the risk for poor mental health during COVID-19 outbreaks and during future health crisis with similar magnitude as the COVID-19 pandemic.

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COVID-19, Stigma and Mental Health: Roots and Solutions

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

COVID-19-related stigma among older adults residing in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

COVID-19-related stigma among older adults residing in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh.

COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and perceived stigma in patients with depression: a network perspective

A multi-country study of the associations between HIV vulnerability status, perception of COVID-19 related stigma and post-traumatic stress symptoms during the first wave of the pandemic

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