Destigmatizing Coronavirus is Key to Win this Battle
Public health emergencies, such as the ongoing pandemic, are nightmares of administrators and stressful time for people and communities as fear and anxiety about the disease can lead them to be biased and hurtful towards their fellow citizens, places, or things. We have several examples of such outbursts since the pandemic started tightening its grip on India – doctors and healthcare workers were evicted, threatened and attacked, religious communities were labelled as ‘spreaders’ of the virus, and memes were shared on social media urging people to stop using Chinese goods. Coupled with restrictive measures of quarantine, isolation, and lockdown, the extreme feeling towards the disease has only increased. While it is very important to provide curative and preventive treatment of the disease, the administrators must take note that continuous stigmatization of COVID-19 can cause substantial hindrance to both providing treatment and containing the spread deeper in the communities.
Fear is a bigger adversary than the disease
As early as in January when the first case started appearing globally, media reports suggested that bystanders in Sydney, Australia refused to carry out CPR on a man in the city’s Chinatown area, fearing he may be infected with COVID-19. The man had a heart attack and eventually died. However, the most ‘high-profile’ case is probably that of Thomas Schäfer, the finance minister for the state of Hesse, who committed suicide on 28th March due to ‘considerable worries’ about the pandemic and whether he will be able to fulfill his duties as a public representative. In India, the largest number of people affected by the stigma around COVID-19 belong to the frontiers of our society – a spate of suicides since the first reports of coronavirus in India started coming in show people have committed suicide due to the fear that they may have got infected. Those addicted to substances found it difficult to survive during lockdown when only essentials were allowed and the list of those who committed suicide also contains people who have been successfully treated and discharged from hospitals – the fear of passing on the highly-contagious disease was more overpowering than the cure science has provided to him. In a country where the line between science and belief blurs quite often, it is important that we have protocols to destigmatize a disease such as coronavirus.
Communication is the key differentiator
Talking about the risk perception of people about a disease situation, Paul Slovic, PhD, professor at the University of Oregon says that the communication on the Ebola hit all of the hot buttons: It can be fatal, it is invisible and hard to protect against, exposure is involuntary and it is not clear that the authorities are in control of the situation.1 All of these are true about coronavirus too, for research has shown new threats raise anxiety levels higher than more familiar threats. Therefore, what is being communicated to people becomes as important as how is it done.
Firstly, communicate the facts clearly and promote ethical journalism. This will help people know the situation in all its reality. It is important to highlight the number of recoveries – in India, around 80 per cent of those who have been tested positive recover without hospitalization. One has to choose the facts and language carefully. Therefore, while the online translation of global pandemic to ‘vaishvik mahamari’ is factually correct, we need to understand the impact of the term on the target audience – those consuming the word ‘pandemic’ are literate people, better-equipped socially and financially to absorb the shock, but those who consume the Hindi translation live in the lowest rung of our society without much cushioning that can condition them to absorb uncertainties.
Next is disseminating information that is inclusive and scientifically-validated. Stigmatizing language and myths should be challenged; it is a civic responsibility. Portray images where diverse communities are seen working together to reduce risk; it can communicate messages of solidarity and shared commitments powerfully. Social influencers such as community leaders, business leaders, and celebrities can be very effective in modeling appropriate communication, and government must make every effort to rope in their support for formal communication.
