ArticleBMC infectious diseases2025
Experiencing stigmatization during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study among healthcare workers.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealthcare workers (HCWs) played a crucial role in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to increased workloads, they were confronted with stigmatization due to their work in the health sector.
methodsGuided by the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework (HSDF), this study aimed to explore the experiences of stigmatization of HCWs in Germany using semi-structured interviews (N = 34) and investigate effective coping strategies and existing needs in this context. An intersectional perspective was adopted to examine the relevance of multiple stigmatization. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
resultsThe results indicated that HCWs were affected by multiple forms of stigmata (public, anticipated, and self-stigma) from different sources (e.g., in private, public, and work contexts). Different drivers for stigmatization were mentioned, but the fear of infection and its consequences were central. The consequences of the stigmatization experience had a primarily restrictive effect on quality of life and social participation on a psychological, social, and professional level. To cope with the stigmatization, those affected reported behavioral and cognitive coping strategies. In addition to the stigmatization in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it became apparent that HCWs experienced additional stigmatization primarily due to their (female) gender, but also due to their profession (i.e., nursing) and (young) age.
conclusionImplications for research, policy, and practice were derived from the results. Future research on the topic should also adopt an intersectional perspective in order to be able to depict the complexity of stigmatization processes adequately.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.