Addressing stigma in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak: A socio-ecological approach

Surviving Covid-19 Diagnosis Among Registered Nurses: Reactions, Consequences, and Coping Mechanisms

Background

To mitigate the spread of Covid-19, nurses infected with the virus were required to isolate themselves from their families and community. Isolated patients were reported to have experienced mental distress, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and suicide. Though studies have reported the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, less is known about the lived experiences of nurses who survived Covid-19 infection in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to study the lived experiences of registered nurses who survived Covid-19 disease. In-depth interviews were conducted among nurses diagnosed with Covid-19 from two hospitals in Kenya between March and May, 2021. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit registered nurses. Data were analyzed using Giorgi's steps of analysis.

Results

The study included ten nurses between 29 and 45 years of age. Nurses' experiences encompassed three themes: diagnosis reaction, consequences, and coping. Reactions to the diagnosis included fear, anxiety, and sadness. The consequence of the diagnosis and isolation was stigma, isolation, and loneliness. Nurses coping mechanisms included acceptance, creating routines, support, and spirituality.

Conclusion

Our findings aid in understanding how nurses experienced Covid-19 infection as patients and will provide evidence-based content for supporting nurses in future pandemics. Moreover, as we acknowledge the heroic contribution of frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is prudent to recognize the considerable occupational risk as they balance their duty to care, and the risk of infection to themselves and their families.

COVID-19 stigma and depression across race, ethnicity and residence

Our cross-sectional study seeks to understand how COVID-19 stigma, race/ethnicity [Asian, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, white] and residency [New York City (NYC) resident vs. non-NYC resident] associated with depression. Our sample includes 568 participants: 260 (45.77%) were NYC residents and 308 (54.3%) were non-NYC residents. A series of multiple linear regression were run to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity, COVID-19 stigma, and depressive symptoms. Irrespective of residency, older age and ever being diagnosed with COVID-19 were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Stigma and thinking less of oneself significantly associates with depressive symptoms across residency. Our study expects to benefit mental health care providers and public health professionals in designing best practices to mitigate stigma in ongoing or future pandemics.

Psychotherapists' Reports regarding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Their Patients: A Cross-National Descriptive Study Based on the Social-Ecological Model (SEM)

The COVID-19 outbreak has raised questions about how vulnerable groups experience the pandemic. Research that focuses on the view of individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions is still limited, and so are cross-country comparative surveys. We gathered our sample of qualitative data during the first lockdown after governmental measures against the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus came into force in Austria, Czechia, Germany, and Slovakia. A total of n = 1690 psychotherapists from four middle European countries answered the question of how the COVID-19 pandemic was addressed in sessions by their patients during the early stage of unprecedented public health conditions. We employed a descriptive qualitative methodology to determine themes following levels of the social-ecological model (SEM) regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic affected patients. At the public policy level, stressful environmental conditions concerned the governmental mitigation efforts. At the level of community/society, reported key themes were employment, restricted access to educational and health facilities, socioeconomic consequences, and the pandemic itself. Key themes at the interpersonal level regarded forced proximity, the possibility of infection of loved ones, childcare, and homeschooling. Key themes at the individual level were the possibility of contracting COVID-19, having to stay at home/isolation, and a changing environment. Within the SEM framework, adaptive and maladaptive responses to these stressors were reported, with more similarities than differences between the countries. A quantification of word stems showed that the maladaptive reactions predominated.

Correlates of COVID-19 Pandemic on Anxiety among Adults in Appalachia, USA

BACKGROUND

Anxiety problems have increased in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. However, very little is known about the anxiety rates in the new normal phase of the disease when adults have been assumed to be adjusted. The study aimed to find out the difference in anxiety in a convenience sample of Appalachian adults during the new normal phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, examine its association with sociodemographic factors, and compare it with the anxiety levels before the pandemic as recalled by the participants.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale was used in the present study. The Chi-square test was used to examine the difference between the severity of anxiety before and during the new normal phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of sociodemographic and behavioral correlates. Pearson correlation was used to see the strength of the association between anxiety and age.

RESULTS

Although the anxiety rate was stabilized by the time people approached the new normal phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, its severity increased significantly among those with preexisting anxiety (P=0.001). Anxiety was found highly associated with female and minority gender, student status, lower education and income level, marital status, cohabitation with parents, and cigarette consumption (P=0.001). A slight inverse association was observed between age and anxiety before and during the new normal phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (P=0.001).

CONCLUSION

The young and females seem to be suffering from a higher burden of anxiety. Research is suggested to identify ways to develop social support-based community programs to address this issue.

COVID-19 Stigma and Charismatic Social Relationship: A Legitimization Narrative of President Trump’s Status as a Charismatic Leader following a SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reported by the Portuguese Media

This concept paper aimed to understand how stigma, a concept usually associated with negative social relationships, in the context of a pandemic threat such as COVID-19 can, in some situations, structure a charismatic social relationship in a perceived positive association between stigma and a specific social characteristic. For this purpose, we used the example of the news selected and highlighted by several Portuguese media about the actions and messages developed by President Trump in the context of his infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent recovery process. These news reports gave visibility to a narrative that can be considered as reinforcing the legitimization of his condition as a charismatic leader in an electoral context marked by the pandemic threat. In conclusion, stigma associated with a pandemic health threat and generally linked to a negative social status can also reinforce admiration, trust, and belief in the charismatic leader by supporters and followers, as demonstrated with the plight of President Trump. Stigma can be a factor in social uplift in affirming an upward trajectory of social status and symbolic power for actors seen as ill, where stigma-motivated discrimination is experienced positively, unlike in most cases.