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Social Stigma during COVID-19 and its Impact on HCWs Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Tiziana Ramaci

    (Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy)

  • Massimiliano Barattucci

    (Faculty of Psychology, e-Campus University, 22060 Novedrate (CO), Italy)

  • Caterina Ledda

    (Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95121 Catania, Italy)

  • Venerando Rapisarda

    (Occupational Medicine, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95121 Catania, Italy)

Abstract

The COVID-19 emergency has significantly transformed the working environment and job demands. Providing care was emotionally difficult for healthcare workers. Uncertainty, stigmatisation, and potentially exposing their families to infection were prominent themes for healthcare workers (HCWs) during the crisis, which first broke out in China at the end of 2019, and then in Italy in early 2020. This study examined the effects of stigma, job demands, and self-esteem, and the consequences of working as a “frontline care provider” with patients infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19). A correlational design study involved 260 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in a large hospital in southern Italy. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), for assessing psychological and physical demands; (2) the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) to measure the quality individuals feel in relation to their work as “frontline care providers”, through three dimensions: compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), and compassion satisfaction (CS); (3) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, for evaluating individual self-esteem; (4) a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire developed by See et al. about attitudes of discrimination, acceptance, and fear towards HCWs exposed to COVID-19. The findings suggest that stigma has a high impact on workers’ outcomes. Stigma may influence worker compliance and can guide management communication strategies relating to pandemic risk for HCWs.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiziana Ramaci & Massimiliano Barattucci & Caterina Ledda & Venerando Rapisarda, 2020. "Social Stigma during COVID-19 and its Impact on HCWs Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3834-:d:355388
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    5. Abduruhman Fahad Alajmi & Hmoud Salem Al-Olimat & Reham Abu Ghaboush & Nada A. Al Buniaian, 2022. "Social Avoidance and Stigma Among Healthcare Workers Serving COVID-19 Patients in Saudi Arabia," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    6. Rodolfo Buselli & Sigrid Baldanzi & Martina Corsi & Martina Chiumiento & Elena Del Lupo & Claudia Carmassi & Liliana Dell’Osso & Alfonso Cristaudo, 2020. "Psychological Care of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Preliminary Report of an Occupational Health Department (AOUP) Responsible for Monitoring Hospital Staff Condition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, June.
    7. Karimeh Alnuaimi & Ali Alshraifeen, 2023. "Familial and Social Stressors Among Jordanian Midwives Amid the COVID-19 Crisis," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.
    8. Marinella Coco & Claudia Savia Guerrera & Giuseppe Santisi & Febronia Riggio & Roberta Grasso & Donatella Di Corrado & Santo Di Nuovo & Tiziana Ramaci, 2021. "Psychosocial Impact and Role of Resilience on Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-9, June.
    9. Mateusz Babicki & Ilona Szewczykowska & Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas, 2021. "The Mental Well-Being of Health Care Workers during the Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Nationwide Study in Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, June.
    10. Monica Molino & Emanuela Ingusci & Fulvio Signore & Amelia Manuti & Maria Luisa Giancaspro & Vincenzo Russo & Margherita Zito & Claudio G. Cortese, 2020. "Wellbeing Costs of Technology Use during Covid-19 Remote Working: An Investigation Using the Italian Translation of the Technostress Creators Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, July.
    11. Melanie Schubert & Julia Ludwig & Alice Freiberg & Taurai Monalisa Hahne & Karla Romero Starke & Maria Girbig & Gudrun Faller & Christian Apfelbacher & Olaf von dem Knesebeck & Andreas Seidler, 2021. "Stigmatization from Work-Related COVID-19 Exposure: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Alexey I. Borovkov & Marina V. Bolsunovskaya & Aleksei M. Gintciak, 2022. "Intelligent Data Analysis for Infection Spread Prediction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-11, February.
    13. Monia Vagni & Tiziana Maiorano & Valeria Giostra & Daniela Pajardi, 2020. "Hardiness, Stress and Secondary Trauma in Italian Healthcare and Emergency Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Natascha Mojtahedzadeh & Felix Alexander Neumann & Elisabeth Rohwer & Albert Nienhaus & Matthias Augustin & Volker Harth & Birgit-Christiane Zyriax & Stefanie Mache, 2021. "The Health Behaviour of German Outpatient Caregivers in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-30, August.
    15. Ieva Meidute-Kavaliauskiene & Şemsettin Çiğdem & Bülent Yıldız & Sigitas Davidavicius, 2021. "The Effect of Perceptions on Service Robot Usage Intention: A Survey Study in the Service Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, August.
    16. Tiziana Ramaci & Stefano Pagliaro & Manuel Teresi & Massimiliano Barattucci, 2021. "Job Demands and Negative Outcomes after the Lockdown: The Moderating Role of Stigma towards Italian Supermarket Workers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-14, July.
    17. Adis Puška & Željko Stević & Dragan Pamučar, 2022. "Evaluation and selection of healthcare waste incinerators using extended sustainability criteria and multi-criteria analysis methods," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(9), pages 11195-11225, September.

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