Stigma Associated with COVID-19 Among Health Care Workers in Indonesia

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the stigma against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among health care workers (HCWs) in Indonesia during the early phase of pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in twelve hospitals across the country on March 2020. A logistic regression was employed to assess the association between stigma and explanatory variables. Results: In total, 288 HCWs were surveyed in which 93.4% of them had never experienced any outbreaks. Approximately 21.9% of the respondents had stigma against COVID-19. HCWs who were doctor, had not participating in trainings related to COVID-19, working at the capital of the province, working at private hospitals, and working at the hospital with COVID-19 triage protocol were likely to have no stigma against COVID-19. Conclusions: The stigma against COVID-19 is relatively high among HCWs in the early phase of COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Adequate knowledge dissemination and adequate protection are necessary to reduce the stigma among HCWs.

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