Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the stigma associated with coronavirus disease - 2019 (COVID-19) among health care workers (HCWs) in Indonesia during the early phase of the pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 hospitals across the country in March, 2020. A logistic regression was employed to assess the association between stigma and explanatory variables. In total, 288 HCWs were surveyed, of which 93.4% had never experienced any outbreaks. Approximately 21.9% of the respondents had stigma associated with COVID-19. HCWs who were doctors, had not participated in trainings related to COVID-19, worked in the capital of the province, worked at private hospitals, or worked at a hospital with COVID-19 triage protocols were likely to have no stigma associated with COVID-19. The stigma associated with COVID-19 is relatively high among HCWs in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Adequate dissemination of knowledge and adequate protection are necessary to reduce stigma among HCWs.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2),[1] was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 due to its alarming level of spread and severity.[2]
Doctors, those who had not participated in trainings related to COVID-19, who were working in the capital of the province, worked at private hospitals, or worked at hospitals with COVID-19 triage protocols, were likely to display no stigma associated with COVID-19 (Table 1)
Participants who were working at provincial capitals and those who were working at private hospitals were likely to have no stigma associated with COVID-19 with OR: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02 - 0.19, and OR: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.02-0.19, respectively
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2),[1] was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 due to its alarming level of spread and severity.[2] The emergence and spread of COVID-19 has caused confusion, anxiety and fear, and led to stigma on certain populations for being the reason for this outbreak.[3,4] In the era of social media as it is today, myths and fake news around COVID-19 spread rapidly, creating fear and stigma among the society.[5] There was frequent use of terms like “Chinese virus” or “China virus” instead of COVID-19 on Twitter, indicating that stigma may be perpetuated on social media.[6] A rise of stigma against people from
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