Abstract
BackgroundThe coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic was initially characterized by misinformation and fear related to transmission that has been previously shown to produce stigma toward persons perceived to be at risk for transmission. This study evaluated perceptions toward scenarios with variable levels of perceived risk for COVID-19 acquisition, and compared stigma to COVID-19 to depression and opioid use disorder.MethodsRespondents (N = 280) from the United States completed a web-based survey 6 months after pandemic declaration. Questions included demographics and COVID-19 misconceptions, expected response to hypothetical scenarios with variable risk for COVID-19, and the Attribution Questionnaire-9 for COVID-19, depression, and opioid use disorder.ResultsParticipants had several COVID-19 misconceptions, including that opioids increased immunity (63.6%), persons were more susceptible based upon racial/ethnic background (63.2%), and underlying health conditions did not influence risk (58.9%). Respondents were highly likely (64/100) to assume someone coughing had COVID-19 and the majority (93.5%) recommended quarantining persons with recent travel. However, the majority of respondents (>70% in all cases) also believed they would not change their COVID-19-related behavior when interacting with persons of different racial, ethnic, and age backgrounds. Finally, persons with COVID-19 engendered greater pity, less fear, less blame, less anger, and more willingness to help from respondents relative to persons with opioid use disorder.ConclusionStigma ratings toward persons perceived at risk of transmitting COVID-19, collected soon after the onset of the pandemic, showed less evidence of stigma relative to persons with opioid use disorder despite pronounced misconceptions regarding COVID-19 risk. Data provide a foundation for additional research in this area.
Highlights
MATERIALS AND METHODSSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronovirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), known as the novel coronavirus-19 (COVID-19), was recognized as a significant health concern in early 2020 and rapidly progressed to become a global pandemic by March 2020 [1]
COVID-19 related stigma leads to myriad consequences, including unwillingness of individuals to seek treatment that identified themselves as having COVID-19 and significant exacerbations of existing mental health conditions [14, 15]
Participants felt they were well-informed about COVID-19, evaluation of specific information related to the virus revealed important knowledge gaps
Summary
The coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic was initially characterized by misinformation and fear related to transmission that has been previously shown to produce stigma toward persons perceived to be at risk for transmission. This study evaluated perceptions toward scenarios with variable levels of perceived risk for COVID19 acquisition, and compared stigma to COVID-19 to depression and opioid use disorder
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