Stigma-related Factors and their Effects on Health-care Workers during COVID-19 Pandemics in Turkey: A Multicenter Study

OBJECTIVES: Infectious diseases–related stigmatization is a common feature in health-care workers (HCWs). This study aims to evaluate the factors associated with stigmas and the effects of stigmatization in HCWs during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: This study was conducted by an anonymous online survey of 452 actively working HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. All subjects provided informed consent electronically before registration and completed the sociodemographic data form, a questionnaire about COVID-19 pandemics, a COVID-19 stigmatization questionnaire for health-care workers, a hospital anxiety depression scale form (HADS), a psychological well-being scale form, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale short form (WHO-QOL BREF) and Coping Styles Scale brief form (CBSS-BF). RESULTS: Perception of stigma score was significantly higher among HCWs with one or more of the following characteristics: they had worked with patients with COVID-19 (+) but had no specific training related to coronavirus, experienced COVID-19 symptoms themselves, delayed testing due to anxiety, received psychological support during COVID-19 pandemics, suffered from a psychological disorder, or had suicidal thoughts/attempts before or during the COVID-19 pandemic (p<0.05). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between the perception of stigmatization score and HAD-S (p<0.05). A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between the perception of the stigmatization score and the Psychological Well-Being Score, CSS-BF problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping, and all subscales of WHOQOL-BRIEF (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings of our study showed that the negative perception of stigma in HCWs could affect their psychological well-being and life satisfaction. During the pandemic, it is necessary to prevent stigmatizing HCWs and improve coping strategies to protect their mental health and increase their life quality.