key: cord-0911239-gpfbfvy9 authors: Peprah, Prince; Gyasi, Razak M. title: Stigma and COVID‐19 crisis: A wake‐up call date: 2020-08-26 journal: Int J Health Plann Manage DOI: 10.1002/hpm.3065 sha: 360dc90af24d88829bac641246b55f484f257038 doc_id: 911239 cord_uid: gpfbfvy9 nan Growing evidence suggests that stigma associated with COVID-19 is a major source of mental distress such as stress, anxiety and depression among the frontline health workers, and affected individuals with serious implication for their well-being. [12] [13] [14] COVID-19-induced stigma can profoundly plunge individuals especially, the health workers into isolation and worthlessness with respect to their inability to effectively contribute to the fight against the pandemic. 14, 15 This resonates with the stadpoint of Javed et al. who explain how COVID-19-related stigma may aggravate mental health issues for the affected persons. 6 For instance, individuals discharged from quarantine and self-isolation experience stigmatization and the associated drastic negative impacts on the mental health due to mixed of emotions. At the same time, recovered COVID-19 patients in their initial stage of family integration may have to practise some cautious social distancing from family members, close relatives and friends due to the rapid spread of the virus. Meanwhile, frontline health workers charged to save and protect lives and society may encounter social distancing and stigmatization for the misconception that they remain carriers of the virus. Previously infected persons may also develop anger, frustration and sadness due to broken relationships as friends and loved ones may have unfounded fears of contracting the disease through personal contacts. 6 Int J Health Plann Mgmt. 2020;1-4. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hpm Crucially, the possible mental health effects of stigma on people might be further exacerbated by fear, community rejection and self-isolation. 2, 6, 16 At the same time, stigmatized people with psychiatric disorders might witness worsening conditions while others might develop new psychological problems as a result of loneliness, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress. 12 Psychological and mental sequelae of COVID-19-related stigma are likely to present short-and long-term postpandemic impacts. Lessons from previous epidemics show that the rate of suicide thoughts, ideation and attempts during COVID-19 will inevitably heighten chiefly because of stigma. 12, 14 Moreover, evidence points to the view that suicide was a serious concern and caused several fatalities during the Ebola and Zika outbreaks in SSA, Influenza in the USA and SARS-COV-1 in Hong Kong. 17, 18 Many countries have paid the price for not paying much attention to stigma-related psychological and mental health issues. 19 Fear, rumours and stigma have been described as the key challenges accompanying COVID- 19 Stigma has also intertwined with other structural issues and ills of the society such as poverty, illiteracy and social exclusion to increase the risk of community transmission of SARS-COV-2. 5 Stigmatization of frontline health and social workers and volunteers can lead to higher rates of stress and burnout and potentially result in a lack of interest in fighting the outbreak. 22 Stigmatizing people with COVID-19 and health workers is tantamount to social isolation and could seriously undermine the fight against the pandemic. Stigma is also seen as counterproductive and social injustice and may derail the public health strategies and political investments to arrest the pandemic. 23 First, using experiences and applying lessons from previous epidemics such as Ebola Third, although access to accurate information is important in addressing stigma, applying an intersectional lens can improve understanding of the ways that COVID-19 stigma intersects with social determinants of health such as gender, race, immigration status, housing security and health status, among other may be highly effective. Balancing tensions between stigma mitigation and the COVID-19 prevention and containment can inform immediate and long-term strategies to build empathy and social justice in current and future pandemics. Finally, engaging social influencers and community leaderships (such as traditional, faith leaders and celebrities), creating public awareness and paying attention to cultural features and expanding public trust and confidence would be important opportunities to fight the pandemic without stigma. The effects of COVID-19-related stigma in the health and social lives of individuals and societal functioning are enormous. These may have some serious consequences in the response strategies and efforts to fight the pandemic. 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