Relation of perceived discrimination with depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress in COVID-19 survivors

Abstract

The study's objective was to study the association of perceived discrimination with depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress in people recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Santa Marta, Colombia. COVID-19 survivors were invited to participate. The authors measured perceived discrimination related to COVID-19 (COVID-19 Perceived Stigma Scale), depression (PHQ-9), insomnia (Athens Insomnia Scale), and post-traumatic stress (Brief Davidson Trauma Scale). Three hundred thirty COVID-19 survivors participated in the research; the participants were between 18 and 89 years; 61.52% were females. 32.12% of the participants reported high perceived discrimination; 49.70%, depression; 60.61%, insomnia; and 13.33% post-traumatic stress. After adjusting for age, gender, and income, depression, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress were associated significantly with discrimination perceived by COVID-19. Perceived discrimination is a social stressor that affects the psychological well-being of people recovered from COVID-19. In the follow-up of this group of patients, it is important to consider the impact of perceived discrimination on psychological well-being.

Experienced stigma and applied coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: a mixed-methods study

“…A sudden illness like COVID-19 resulting in fear of death or infecting others, loneliness and shame generates a feeling of vulnerability, which serves as a breeding ground for experiencing stigma. Vice versa, stigma seems to increase vulnerability, both in this and other studies 6 21 40 41. Hence, COVID-19-related stigma leads to psychological stress and adds to the burden of disease 13 23 40.…”

“…Regarding health, stigma is often seen as a hidden burden of disease4 and a social determinant of health and health inequity 5. It generates psychological stress6 and causes affected people to hide their condition with severe consequences for their own health, and in case of infectious diseases, for public health 7. In the context of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, the risk of stigmatisation has been addressed early8–10 and reports of discrimination against patients and survivors have accumulated 11.…”

After Hurricane Maria: Effects of disaster trauma on Puerto Rican survivors on the U.S. mainland.

“…The link between hurricane trauma and cultural stress (primarily discrimination) might be explained through crisis migration and trauma theorizing as well as through socioeconomic realities in Puerto Rico. From a crisis migration, trauma, and cultural stress perspective, experiencing a severe natural disaster may invoke hyperarousal, perceived threat, and rejection sensitivity, such that individuals who are more traumatized may be more likely to anticipate, perceive, or experience discrimination or other negative events (Campo-Arias et al, 2022; Meyer, 2020). From a socioeconomic perspective, the individuals who were most likely to experience the longest-lasting damage from the storm—namely, those from lower-income communities and rural areas of Puerto Rico—may have also been least likely to speak English (and therefore more likely than fluent English speakers to experience discrimination).…”

“…Within a crisis migration context, especially when the crisis in question is a single traumatic event such as a major hurricane, posttraumatic reactions such as hyperarousal and increased perceived threats may render individuals more susceptible to perceiving subsequent events as culturally stressful (Campo-Arias et al, 2022). As a result, survivors of severe natural disasters may view themselves as victims of discrimination, a negative context of reception, and language difficulties upon arrival in their destination country or region.…”

Relationship between cognition and emotions caused by the COVID-19 infection, and depression and anxiety

“…Speci cally, qualitative studies have found that COVID-19 recovered patients often suffer from several cognition and emotions, newly developed due to COVID-19 infection experiences such as COVID-19-related-stigma (26, 27), guilt of spreading the infection (26-28), threat of ambiguity in prognosis (29), and feeling of distancing from others (29). However, quantitative research has been insu cient in explaining these variables, except for self-stigma (30)(31)(32). Therefore, we aimed to exploratorily investigate whether the cognition and emotions of the experience of COVID-19 infection were associated with depression and anxiety in COVID-19 recovered patients.…”