Stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City: evidence from a cross-sectional investigation

Md Golam Kibria; Taslima Islam; Md Tajul Islam; Russell Kabir; Shakil Ahmed; Papia Sultana

doi:10.7717/peerj.14092

Stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City: evidence from a cross-sectional investigation

PeerJ. 2022 Oct 6:10:e14092. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14092. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Md Golam Kibria¹, Taslima Islam¹, Md Tajul Islam^{1

2}, Russell Kabir^{1

3}, Shakil Ahmed⁴, Papia Sultana⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Research, Centre for Development Action, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
² Department of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ School of Allied Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK.
⁴ Maternal and Child Health Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁵ Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a significant disease pandemic. Dhaka City alone has contributed about one-third to the total COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh. Globally, patients with infectious diseases, including COVID-19, experience stigma. There was no quantitative estimate of stigma experienced by patients with COVID-19 in the country. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 respondents aged 18 years or older who had been hospitalized or had stayed at home and were tested negative 15 days to 6 months before the day of data collection. Data collection was done through in-person and telephone interviews using a semi-structured survey questionnaire. A 15-item COVID-19-related stigma scale questionnaire was used to assess stigma. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the predictors of stigma.

Results: More than half (53.1%) of the respondents experienced stigma when they were COVID-19 positive. Females were at a 3.24 times higher risk of experiencing stigma than their male counterparts. Respondents from the 60+ age group and 40-59 age group were 63.0% and 48.0% less likely to experience stigma than those from the 18-39 age group. Non-hospitalised patients had 1.67 times higher odds of facing stigma than those hospitalised.

Conclusions: This study reported a high prevalence of stigma among the patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City. The current evidence base of stigma experience among patients with COVID-19 offers a solid foundation for creating effective strategies and policies and designing appropriate interventions to counter stigma, which will improve the psychological well-being of patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cross-sectional; Dhaka City; Patients; Stigma.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Bangladesh / epidemiology
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Cities
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the Bangladesh Medical Research Council, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.