Abstract
ObjectivesTo identify the prevalence of a stigmatizing attitude towards people of Chinese origin at the start of the COVID‐19 outbreak in the UK population and investigate factors associated with holding the stigmatizing attitude.DesignOnline cross‐sectional survey conducted 10–13 February 2020 (n = 2006, people aged 16 years or over and living in the UK).MethodsWe asked participants to what extent they agreed it was best to avoid areas heavily populated by Chinese people because of the COVID‐19 outbreak. Survey materials also asked about: worry, perceived risk, knowledge, information receipt, perception of government response to COVID‐19, and personal characteristics. We ran binary logistic regressions to investigate associations between holding a stigmatizing attitude, personal characteristics, and psychological and contextual factors.Results26.1% people (95% CI 24.2–28.0%, n = 524/2006) agreed it was best to avoid areas heavily populated by Chinese people. Holding a stigmatizing attitude was associated with greater worry about COVID‐19, greater perceived risk of COVID‐19, and poorer knowledge about COVID‐19.ConclusionsAt the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, a large percentage of the UK public endorsed avoiding areas in the UK heavily populated by people of Chinese origin. This attitude was associated with greater worry about, and perceived risk of, the COVID‐19 outbreak as well as poorer knowledge about COVID‐19. At the start of future novel infectious disease outbreaks, proactive communications from official sources should provide context and facts to reduce uncertainty and challenge stigmatizing attitudes, to minimize harms to affected communities.
Highlights
Stigma has been defined as occurring when people distinguish and label differences, link these differences to stereotypes, and separate themselves from the ‘other’ group, leading to discrimination and loss of status (Link & Phelan, 2001)
We found that approximately one-quarter of the UK population held a stigmatizing attitude towards people from Chinese communities at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak
Other UK surveys conducted at a similar time found that 14% reported avoiding contact with people of Chinese origin or appearance (Ipsos MORI, 2020) and that 30% thought it would be ‘prudent’ to not eat at Chinese restaurants ‘to reduce the risk of getting infected with coronavirus’ (Geldsetzer, 2020)
Summary
Stigma has been defined as occurring when people distinguish and label differences, link these differences to stereotypes, and separate themselves from the ‘other’ group, leading to discrimination and loss of status (Link & Phelan, 2001). Stigmatization at the start of infectious disease outbreaks is common and fuelled by fear of the unknown and the association of unknowns with ‘others’ (International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF, World Health Organization, 2020; The Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), 2021). As all outbreaks of novel infectious diseases start in a similar manner – as an unknown entity – it is important to understand factors that may contribute to stigmatizing attitudes, to inform policy and communications which aim to minimize the impact of stigma at the start of future outbreaks. The COVID-19 pandemic emerged from Wuhan, China. By 11 February 2020, there had been 42,708 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1017 deaths in China, and the virus had been detected in 24 other countries (total 393 cases and 1 death) (WHO Director-General, 2020). On 1 April 2020, the UN Secretary General dubbed the COVID-19 pandemic as the ‘most challenging crisis’ for the world since World War II (News Wires, 2021)
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