Uneven stigma loads: Community interpretations of public health policies, 'evidence' and inequities in shaping Covid-19 stigma in Vietnam

Relationship Between Infection or Close Contact With COVID-19 and Workplace Mistreatment Among Japanese Workers: A Cross-sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

Discriminatory treatment against those with emerging infection is a long-standing problem. The present study investigates whether workers infected or in close contact with COVID-19 were susceptible to workplace mistreatment during the pandemic in Japan.

METHODS

This Internet-based cross-sectional study analyzed a total of 18,170 workers aged 20 to 60 years in Japan in December 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) for workplace mistreatment were estimated.

RESULTS

For workers with close contact or infection, ORs for workplace mistreatment in a model adjusted for socioeconomic factors were 7.64 (95% CI: 5.52-10.6, P < 0.001) and 10.7 (95% CI: 8.44-13.6, P < 0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Workers with infection or close contact were significantly more likely to experience workplace mistreatment. Actions against workplace mistreatment for workers with emerging infection are still required.

Systematic Review of Scales for Measuring Infectious Disease-Related Stigma

Infectious disease outbreaks are associated with substantial stigma, which can have negative effects on affected persons and communities and on outbreak control. Thus, measuring stigma in a standardized and validated manner early in an outbreak is critical to disease control. We reviewed existing scales used to assess stigma during outbreaks. Our findings show that many different scales have been developed, but few have been used more than once, have been adequately validated, or have been tested in different disease and geographic contexts. We found that scales were usually developed too slowly to be informative early during an outbreak and were published a median of 2 years after the first case of an outbreak. A rigorously developed, transferable stigma scale is needed to assess and direct responses to stigma during infectious disease outbreaks.

Addressing stigma in infectious disease outbreaks: a crucial step in pandemic preparedness

There is a complex interplay between infectious disease outbreaks and the stigmatization of affected persons and communities. Outbreaks are prone to precipitating stigma due to the fear, uncertainty, moralisation, and abatement of freedoms associated with many infectious diseases. In turn, this stigma hampers outbreak control efforts. Understanding this relationship is crucial to improving coordinated outbreak response. This requires valid and reliable methods for assessing stigma towards and within impacted communities. We propose adopting a cross-outbreak model for developing the necessary assessment tools. A stigma-informed approach must then be integrated into outbreak preparedness and response efforts to safeguard public health and promote inclusivity and compassion in future outbreaks.

Religious diversity and public health: Lessons from COVID-19

Scholars have identified a range of variables that predict public health compliance during COVID-19, including: psychological, institutional and situational variables as well as demographic characteristics, such as gender, location and age. In this paper, we argue that religious affiliation is also a clear predictor for compliance with public health guidelines. Based on a sample representative survey (N = 800) of Haredi Jews in Israel, we found that Haredi Jews mostly followed COVID-19 health regulations. Among the respondents who were non-compliant, however, we found large divergences which mostly reflected religious affiliation. While members of Lithuanian and Sephardi communities reported following guidelines, Hasidim, a more charismatic sub-group, were 12% and 14% more likely to flout public health guidelines than their Lithuanian and Sephardi counterparts, respectively. Despite this inner diversity, all Haredim were portrayed in Israeli media as one homogeneous group that was blamed for flouting public health guidelines and spreading COVID-19. Based on these findings, we argue for the importance of public health messaging that attends to diverse aspects of religious dogma, practice and observance by creating partnerships and sustainable relationships between different actors and stakeholders. In addition, we found that compliance was also shaped by knowledge about COVID-19 and public concern. Taking these findings together, health communication that acknowledges religious diversity while providing critical knowledge about the pandemic is key to developing and implementing community-focused interventions and public health programs. Practically, these insights help to improve pandemic governance as well as contributing theoretically to the study of public health relations and religion by highlighting how discourses around health vary and how differently positioned actors shape representations of responsiveness and health compliance.