Bullying, internalized hepatitis (Hepatitis C virus) stigma, and self-esteem: Does spirituality curtail the relationship in the workplace

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of workplace bullying on self-esteem, including the mediating effect of internalized stigma and the moderating effect of spirituality, among hepatitis C virus patients. Data were collected from 228 employed hepatitis C virus patients who had been admitted to Gastroenterology and Hepatology wards in Pakistani hospitals. We found support for the hypothesis that workplace bullying is associated with low self-esteem via internalized stigma. In addition, spirituality moderated the association such that participants with greater spirituality were buffered from the impact of stigma on self-esteem.

Disclosure Tuberculosis Stigmatized Identities And Its Workplace Implications In Pakistan

“…Recent work suggests that disease related stigma is less studied in Asian countries (Brohan, Slade, Clement, & Thornicroft, 2010). A few studies have been conducted on disease based stigma like AIDS and HCV in Pakistani context at workplace domain (Bashir, Nasir, Qayyum, & Bashir, 2012;Noor, Bashir, & Earnshaw, 2016). The present study investigates disclosure Tuberculosis stigmatized identities and its workplace outcomes (deviant workplace behavior) through interlinking mechanism of self-esteem that are less studied in previous psycho-social literature.…”

A systematic review of disease-related stigmatization in patients living with inflammatory bowel disease

“…These findings are similar to internalized stigma studies in other patient populations. 53 , 70 , 114 …”

“…Chronic illness stigmatization, most notably characterized in mental health 43 – 45 and HIV/AIDS 46 – 48 research, is a common and global social issue. 49 While the majority of research in this area is in the aforementioned conditions, other chronic illnesses such as cancers, 50 – 52 hepatitis C, 53 – 55 epilepsy, 56 – 58 leprosy, 59 – 61 and obesity 62 – 65 have well-documented stigmatization. Illness stigma has a myriad of public health implications including limiting access to medical care, increasing treatment nonadherence, increased psychological distress, decreased self-esteem and self-efficacy, and increased illness symptoms.…”

Illness Experience of Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Participating in Clinical Trials

“…Because chronic diseases often result in social devaluation or stigma [7], they negatively affect the physical and psychosocial health of patients [8]. A previous study found that patients with chronic hepatitis C experience shame, decreased self-esteem, fear, depression, and isolation [9].…”