Associations Between Perceived Social Status, Discrimination, With Subjective Sleep Quality Among Migrant Care Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between perceived social status, COVID-19-related discrimination, and sleep quality among 158 migrant care workers in Taiwan. Data were collected via computer-assisted interviews, assessing perceived social status with the MacArthur scale and sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The results revealed that higher perceived social status in reference to the destination country (B = 0.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.08, 0.53]; P = .008) and experience of media stigmatization (B = 0.52; 95% CI = [0.04, 0.99]; P = .03) were associated with higher global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores, whereas perceived social status in reference to the home country and others forms of pandemic-related discrimination were not associated with PSQI scores. The study concludes that social comparison and stigmatization linked to sleep health of migrant care workers. Understanding these factors can inform the development of targeted interventions to address inequalities faced by migrants.