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COVID-19-related stigma and its influencing factors: a nationwide cross-sectional study during the early stage of the pandemic in China.
Jiang, Tianyu; Zhou, Xudong; Lin, Leesa; Pan, Yanzheng; Zhong, Yuyuan; Wang, Xiaomin; Zhu, Hui.
  • Jiang T; Institute of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
  • Zhou X; Institute of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
  • Lin L; Department of Global Health and Development, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
  • Pan Y; Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health (D24H), Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
  • Zhong Y; Institute of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
  • Wang X; Institute of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
  • Zhu H; Institute of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China xiaominwang2018@zju.edu.cn zhuhui2002@zju.edu.cn.
BMJ Open ; 11(8): e048983, 2021 08 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1356945
ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES:

To describe the situation of COVID-19-related stigma towards patients with COVID-19 and people from the city of Wuhan in China and to assess the associations between COVID-19-related stigma, health literacy and sociodemographic characteristics during March 2020, the early stage of the pandemic.

DESIGN:

A cross-sectional online survey.

SETTING:

The study surveyed 31 provinces in China.

PARTICIPANTS:

This study surveyed 5039 respondents in China. OUTCOME

MEASURES:

Public stigma towards both patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents was measured. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with public COVID-19-related stigma.

RESULTS:

Among the participants, 122 (2.4%) reported themselves and 254 (5.0%) reported the communities they lived in as holding a stigmatising attitude towards patients with COVID-19, respectively. Additionally, 114 (2.5%) and 475 (10.3%) reported that themselves and the communities they lived in, respectively, held a stigma against people from Wuhan, which was the most severely affected area in China. People aged over 40, lived in areas with severe epidemics (adjusted OR (aOR)=2.03, 95% CI (1.05 to 3.92)) and who felt it difficult to find and understand information about COVID-19 (aOR=1.91, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.37); aOR=1.88, 95% CI (1.08 to 3.29)) were more likely to stigmatise patients with COVID-19. People who were male, aged 41-50 and had difficulty understanding information (aOR=2.08, 95% CI (1.17 to 3.69)) were more likely to stigmatise people from Wuhan.

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients with COVID-19 and Wuhan residents suffered stigma at both the individual and the community levels. Those who had low health literacy, who lived in areas with a large number of COVID-19 cases and who were of ethnic minorities were more likely to stigmatise others. Tailored interventions are encouraged to improve health literacy and consequently to reduce public COVID-19-related stigma.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: English Journal: BMJ Open Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Bmjopen-2021-048983

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: English Journal: BMJ Open Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Bmjopen-2021-048983