Stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City: evidence from a cross-sectional investigation

PeerJ

article

Golam Kibria¹  Taslima Islam¹  Tajul Islam¹  Russell Kabir¹  Shakil Ahmed⁴  Papia Sultana⁵ 

[1] Department of Research, Centre for Development Action;Department of Public Health, North South University;School of Allied Health, Anglia Ruskin University;Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research;Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi

关键词: COVID-19;    Stigma;    Patients;    Cross-sectional;    Dhaka City;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.14092

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a significant disease pandemic. Dhaka City alone has contributed about one-third to the total COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh. Globally, patients with infectious diseases, including COVID-19, experience stigma. There was no quantitative estimate of stigma experienced by patients with COVID-19 in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 respondents aged 18 years or older who had been hospitalized or had stayed at home and were tested negative 15 days to 6 months before the day of data collection. Data collection was done through in-person and telephone interviews using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. A 15-item COVID-19-related stigma scale questionnaire was used to assess stigma. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of stigma. Results More than half (53.1%) of the respondents experienced stigma when they were COVID-19 positive. Females were at a 3.24 times higher risk of experiencing stigma than their male counterparts. Respondents from the 60+ age group and 40–59 age group were 63.0% and 48.0% less likely to experience stigma than those from the 18–39 age group. Non-hospitalised patients had 1.67 times higher odds of facing stigma than those hospitalised. Conclusions This study reported a high prevalence of stigma among the patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City. The current evidence base of stigma experience among patients with COVID-19 offers a solid foundation for creating effective strategies and policies and designing appropriate interventions to counter stigma, which will improve the psychological well-being of patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

【 授权许可】

CC BY