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The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the risk of social stigma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M.A. Sacco ,
C. Scalise ,
A. Zibetti ,
V. Aquila ,
L. Abenavoli ,
P. Ricci  and
I. Aquila
M.A. Sacco*
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical And Surgical Science, Catanzaro, Italy
C. Scalise
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical And Surgical Science, Catanzaro, Italy
A. Zibetti
Affiliation:
Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical And Surgical Science, Catanzaro, Italy
V. Aquila
Affiliation:
University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Medical And Surgical Sciences, Catanzaro, Italy
L. Abenavoli
Affiliation:
University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Medical And Surgical Sciences, Catanzaro, Italy
P. Ricci
Affiliation:
University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Medical And Surgical Sciences, Catanzaro, Italy
I. Aquila
Affiliation:
University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Medical And Surgical Sciences, Catanzaro, Italy
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Social stigma indicates a process of negative connotation of a person which results in discrimination. The victim of stigma experiences a condition of social exclusion that negatively affects his relationships. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread the fear of being “contaminated”, which has led to the discrimination of a part of population.

Objectives

The purpose of this work is to analyze which people have suffered from stigma due to the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the negative effects on their health during this period.

Methods

A literature review of peer-reviewed articles was performed on Pubmed NCBI database by inserting the keywords: stigma and COVID-19 in the period 2020-2021.

Results

The data showed that the categories most at risk were positive patients and their families; healthcare workers in COVID-19 wards; Asian people. Discrimination has included avoidance attitudes, physical or verbal abuse, hypersurveillance in public places. Negative effects on victims included anxiety, depression, feelings of rejection and shame, self-harm and suicide. COVID-19 patients attempted to hide the disease by avoiding access to hospital; health personnel developed risk of burnout; Asian restaurants experienced a drop in reservations, even after quarantine period.

Conclusions

Social stigma is a public health problem and greater efforts are mandatory to reduce it including correct information, with the help of social and mass media; social interventions aimed at generating empathy; avoiding the use of negative language focused on stereotypes that could generate fear or discrimination. Such interventions are crucial to reduce discrimination in such a fragile period as COVID-19 pandemic.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

discriminationstigmaCovid-19
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S869
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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