Stigma and its associated factors among patients with COVID-19 in Dhaka City: evidence from a cross-sectional investigation

Comparative study of stigma and discrimination among vaccinated and non-vaccinated COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh

This study investigates the stigmatized experiences of vaccinated and non-vaccinated COVID-19 survivors in Bangladesh, emphasizing the factors contributing to stigma, the lived realities of stigmatization, and strategies for mitigating discrimination. Employing a qualitative comparative case study approach, the research draws on interviews with 22 survivors (13 non-vaccinated and 9 vaccinated) conducted during two critical phases of the pandemic: July-August 2020 and October 2022-April 2023. The findings reveal that stigma and discrimination were pervasive, stemming from deep-seated fears of death and infection, exacerbated by public health measures such as lockdowns, public announcements, and the symbolic marking of houses with red flags. Experiences surrounding COVID-19 testing further intensified stigma, influencing how survivors were perceived and treated by others. Notably, non-vaccinated survivors reported a broader spectrum of stigmatizing experiences compared to their vaccinated counterparts, highlighting the differential impact of vaccination status on social experiences. Despite these challenges, survivors identified key strategies for alleviating stigma, including robust social support, strengthened community connectivity, normalized attitudes toward COVID-19, and proactive media engagement. As a result, this study offers valuable insights for healthcare professionals and policymakers in Bangladesh, informing the development of effective pandemic management strategies. Additionally, it enhances our understanding of the complex interplay between policy, social perception, and individual experiences in shaping pandemic-related stigma and discrimination, highlighting the critical role of community support and care in addressing these challenges.

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.

Are anthropometric characteristics powerful markers to predict the Cooper Run Test? Actual Caucasian data

Background

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a powerful marker of cardiovascular health, especially in youth. Several field tests can provide accurate measurement of CRF, the Cooper Run Test (CRT) is generally preferred by physical education (PE) teachers and trainers. The CRT performance in adolescents has been compared to reference distance values, gender and age but the differences among the anthropometric characteristics of youth has not been evaluated. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to develop reference standards for CRT and evaluate possible correlations between biometric measurements and athletic performance.

Methods

This cross-sectional study involved a total of 9,477 children (4,615 girls) aged 11-14 years, freely recruited from North Italian middle schools. Mass, height and CRT performances were assessed in the morning during PE classes as scheduled (mornings-Monday to Friday). The anthropometric measures were collected at least 20 min before the CRT run test.

Results

We found a better CRT result in boys (p < 0.001), however a smaller SD in girls suggested a more homogeneous aerobic performance for girls (i.e., 371.12 m vs 282.00 m). In addition, the Shapiro-Wilk test showed a low p-value (p < 0.001) but the effect size (0.031 for boys and 0.022 for girls) was small enough that the correction on this parameter allows a practical assumption of normality for the distributions. A visual homoskedastic distribution in both sexes is evident for both body mass index (BMI), mass and VO₂ peak with respect to CRT results. In addition, there were low linear correlation coefficients for both BMI, mass and VO₂ peak compared to the CRT results, with a R2 < 0.5 for every covariate. The only visual heteroskedastic distribution was observed in regression between distance in CRT and age at peak high velocity.

Conclusions

Our findings suggested that anthropometric characteristics are not powerful markers to predict Cooper Run Test results in a well-mixed, unpolarized and unbiased pool of middle school boys and girls. PE teachers and trainers should prefer endurance tests over the use of indirect formulas to predict performance.