COVID-19 perceived stigma among survivors: A cross- sectional study of prevalence and predictors

Background and objectives: Perceived stigma related to infectious diseases is of public health importance and can adversely impact patients' physical and mental health. This study aims to iden-tify the level of perceived stigma among COVID-19 survivors in Qatar and investigate its predictors.Methods: An analytical cross-sectional design was employed. Four hundred and four participants who had a positive COVID-19 PCR test were randomly selected from medical records. The selected participants were interviewed to collect sociodemographic and health-related information. Per-ceived stigma was assessed using the COVID-19 perceived stigma scale-22 (CPSS-22) that was developed by the researchers. A descriptive analysis followed by a bivariate analysis investigated possible associations between the perceived stigma levels and independent variables. A multivari-able analysis was performed using logistic regression to identify any significant associations with perceived stigma. The validity and reliability of the developed tool were also tested.Results: The prevalence of COVID-19 perceived stigma was twenty-six percent (n = 107, 26.4%) at 95% CI [22.4-30.4]. Factors associated with higher COVID-19 perceived stigma were male gen-der, being a manual worker, non-Arabic ethnicity, low educational level, living alone, and being isolated outside the home. However, only occupation, ethnicity, and low educational level pre-dicted COVID-19 perceived stigma in multivariable analysis. The CPSS-22 showed excellent reli-ability (Cronbach's alpha 0.92).Conclusion: Perceived stigma was relatively common among participants. Designing programs and interventions targeting male manual workers and those of low-educational levels may assist policymakers in mitigating the stigma related to COVID-19.(c) 2022 Asociacion Universitaria de Zaragoza para el Progreso de la Psiquiatria y la Salud Mental. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.