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

Kibria, Md Golam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1499-7505, Islam, Taslima, Islam, Md Tajul, Kabir, Russell ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9257-2775, Ahmed, Shakil and Sultana, Papia (2022) Stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City: evidence from a cross-sectional investigation. PeerJ, 10 (e14092). e14092-e14092. ISSN 2167-8359

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Keywords:	infectious diseases, psychiatry and psychology, public health, mental health, Covid-19
Faculty:	COVID-19 Research Collection Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine & Social Care
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic User
Depositing User:	Symplectic User
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2022 22:17
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2022 22:17
URI:	https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/707980

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