An Exploratory Cross-sectional Study on Public Stigma against Coronavirus Disease 2019 from Punjab

Abstract Background: Stigma perceived by persons affected with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their family members has been reported in the literature. This study aimed to evaluate COVID-19-related public stigma in detail in a regional area of Punjab, North India. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional, hospital-based, descriptive study. Four hundred and eighty-eight participants were recruited and administered Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue-Stigma Scale to measure public stigma against COVID-19. The data were analyzed using Mann–Whitney test and Spearman correlation coefficient. Results: >78.68% participants believed that people in their community avoided a person affected by COVID-19, 76.6% believed that COVID-19 caused problems for family. More than 70% participants responded that people refused to visit the home of an affected person and it created difficulties for an affected person to find work. Nearly 70% responded that people dislike buying food from an affected person. 60% participants responded that sufferers would have concerns related to disclosure of illness. On the positive side, majority participants responded that COVID-19 would not lead to difficulties in finding match for the sufferer’s marriage (57.8%) or relative’s marriage (80.3%) or would not lead to problems in ongoing marriage (61.7%). Nearly 60% also responded that people would not think less of themselves if a family member had COVID-19 and it would not cause shame and embarrassment in community (58.8%). Conclusion: Public stigma for COVID-19 was high in some forms (avoidance, disclosure concerns, difficulty in finding work, etc.) and low in some other forms (like marriage-related issues, shame, and embarrassment in community).