Surviving the stigma: lessons learnt for the prevention of COVID-19 stigma and its mental health impact

Abstract

Purpose The spread of novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has affected more than four million lives worldwide. Unfortunately, incidents of stigmatisation associated with COVID-19 are being reported worldwide. Studies conducted during and after public health emergencies because of communicable diseases have highlighted the development of stigmatisation and associated mental health consequences. This study aims to explore the past pandemics and current incidents of stigmatisation to understand COVID-19 stigma, its mental health impact and how they can be prevented by using primary and secondary prevention methods. Design/methodology/approach Researches were shortlisted using keywords such as “infectious diseases and mental health”, “COVID 19 stigma and mental health”, “Contagious disease stigma” and “mental health of survivors”. Findings Studies conducted during and after public health emergencies because of communicable diseases have highlighted the development of stigmatisation and associated mental health consequences. The emphasis is on universal prevention of stigmatization. Early psychological intervention may reduce the long-term psychological effects of the illness and reduction of stigma may contribute to treatment. Originality/value This paper predicts the chances of stigmatisation that COVID-19 survivors may face and possible strategies to prevent it.

A Perspective on Reprioritizing Children’s’ Wellbeing Amidst COVID-19: Implications for Policymakers and Caregivers

“…Psychologically, it is evident that the disruptions to normal life brought about by the current pandemic have rendered children more prone to experience heightened levels of stress and anxiety (Restubog et al, 2020). It has been suggested that statistically, susceptibility to such adverse psychological effects is incrementally high among age groups from 2-year old to adolescents (Singh et al, 2020a;Singh et al, 2020b). With regards to the current pandemic, children might ask themselves if they would lose their loved ones due to COVID-19 which ultimately would lead to an immense level of stress as well as an inability to effectively regulate their emotions.…”

“…Therefore, there is an urgent need for governments to ensure adequate measures that would mitigate the negative impact brought about by the closure of academic institutions (Mukhtar, 2020). Such measures must include safeguarding the health and well-being of students (Dharmshaktu et al, 2020) and staff members and aim at reducing the stigma of the coronavirus (Singh et al, 2020a;Singh et al, 2020b). The authors have tried to give some suggestions to the policymakers and caregivers in the following section to tackle the current situation.…”

“…Also, care should be taken to maintain active routines and schedules to help children to manage their time and avoid disruptive behavior because of witnessing violence or being victims of abuse. There is also a need for early psychological intervention and informative interactions that inform children that nobody should be abused or stigmatized for having any illness (Singh et al, 2020a;Singh et al, 2020b). More importantly, the number of time children spend on online platforms should be supervised and limited as they may be exposed to distressing information.…”

The influencing factors of discrimination against recovered Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in China: a national study

“…Existing studies on COVID-19 stigma and discrimination are mainly qualitative. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] To counteract COVID-19 stigma, the main recommendation from these studies was to disseminate accurate information about COVID-19 and contain the spread of COVID-19 disinformation and misinformation. [4][5][6] Public health information geared toward general education about COVID-19, and explaining the rationale for COVID-19 quarantines, aims to reduce stigmatization among the general public.…”

“…[4][5][6] Public health information geared toward general education about COVID-19, and explaining the rationale for COVID-19 quarantines, aims to reduce stigmatization among the general public. [6][7][8] Logie 9 suggested the experience of dealing with HIV could be leveraged to understand and address COVID-19 stigma. Baldassarre argued that an historical review of epidemics could create a solid scientific base for developing coping tools to address COVID-19 stigma and discrimination.…”