Stigma towards health care providers taking care of COVID-19 patients: A multi-country study
Abdulqadir J. Nashwan,
Glenn Ford D. Valdez,
Sadeq AL-Fayyadh,
Hani Al-Najjar,
Hossam Elamir,
Muna Barakat,
Joseph U. Almazan,
Ibtesam O. Jahlan,
Hawa Alabdulaziz,
Nabil E. Omar,
Fade Alawneh,
I. Ketut Andika Priastana,
Aiman Alhanafi,
Bilal Abu-Hussein,
Malik Al-Shammari,
Marwa M. Shaban,
Mostafa Shaban,
Hayder AL-Hadrawi,
Mohammed B. Al-Jubouri,
Sabah A. Jaafar,
Shaymaa M. Hussein,
Ayat J. Nashwan,
Mohammed A. Alharahsheh,
Nisha Kader,
Majid Alabdulla,
Ananth Nazarene,
Mohamed A. Yassin,
Ralph C. Villar
Affiliations
Abdulqadir J. Nashwan
Department of Nursing Education & Practice Development, Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital (HMGH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar; Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ), Doha, Qatar; Corresponding author.
Glenn Ford D. Valdez
Faculty of Nursing, Oman College of Health Sciences, Dhofar Branch, Oman
Sadeq AL-Fayyadh
Adult Nursing Department, College of Nursing, The University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Hani Al-Najjar
Department of Surgery, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan
Hossam Elamir
Quality and Accreditation Directorate, Ministry of Health, Kuwait
Muna Barakat
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan
Joseph U. Almazan
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Nursultan, Kazakhstan
Ibtesam O. Jahlan
Maternal and Child Health Nursing Care Department, College of Nursing, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Hawa Alabdulaziz
Maternity and Children Department, Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Nabil E. Omar
Pharmacy Department, National Center for Cancer Care and Research, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar
Fade Alawneh
Department of Surgery, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan
I. Ketut Andika Priastana
Universitas Triatma Mulya, Indonesia
Aiman Alhanafi
Islamic Hospital, Amman, Jordan
Bilal Abu-Hussein
Al Essra Hospital, Amman, Jordan
Malik Al-Shammari
Ibn Sina Hospital, Ministry of Health, Kuwait
Marwa M. Shaban
Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Mostafa Shaban
Geriatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Hayder AL-Hadrawi
College of Nursing, The University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
Mohammed B. Al-Jubouri
Adult Nursing Department, College of Nursing, The University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Sabah A. Jaafar
Adult Nursing Department, College of Nursing, University of Al-Muthanna, Iraq
Shaymaa M. Hussein
Adult Nursing Department, College of Nursing, The University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Ayat J. Nashwan
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
Mohammed A. Alharahsheh
Department of Sociology and Social Work, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
Nisha Kader
Mental Health Services (MHS), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar
Majid Alabdulla
Mental Health Services (MHS), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar; College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Ananth Nazarene
Department of Nursing, Mental Health Services (MHS), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar
Mohamed A. Yassin
Department of Medical Oncology, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar
Ralph C. Villar
Department of Nursing Education & Practice Development, Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital (HMGH), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha, Qatar
Background: Health care providers (HCPs) have always been a common target of stigmatization during widespread infections and COVID-19 is not an exception. Aim: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of stigmatization during the COVID-19 pandemic among HCPs in seven different countries using the Stigma COVID-19 Healthcare Providers tool (S19-HCPs). Design: Cross-sectional. Methods: The S19-HCPs is a self-administered online survey (16-item) developed and validated by the research team. The participants were invited to complete an online survey. Data collection started from June–July 2020 using a convenience sample of HCPs from Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Kuwait. Results: A total number of 1726 participants were included in the final analysis. The majority of the study participants were Jordanians (22%), followed by Kuwaitis (19%), Filipinos (18%) and the lowest participants were Indonesians (6%). Other nationalities were Iraqis, Saudis, and Egyptians with 15%, 11% and 9% respectively. Among the respondents, 57% have worked either in a COVID-19 designated facility or in a quarantine center and 78% claimed that they had received training for COVID-19. Statistical significance between COVID-19 stigma and demographic variables were found in all aspect of the S19-HCPs. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated high levels of stigmatization against HCPs in all the included seven countries. On the other hand, they are still perceived positively by their communities and in their utmost, highly motivated to care for COVID-19 patients. Educational and awareness programs could have a crucial role in the solution of stigmatization problems over the world.
