Fear of Medical Staff: The Importance of Stigmatization during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Letter to the Editor

Farzin Bagheri Sheykhangafshe; Elnaz Sadeghi Chookami

doi:10.18502/ssu.v29i10.8202

Farzin Bagheri Sheykhangafshe Department of Psychology Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Elnaz Sadeghi Chookami Department of Psychology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ssu.v29i10.8202

Keywords: Fear of Medical Staff, Stigmatization, COVID-19, Pandemic.

Abstract

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, although hospital staff cared for patients, they were recognized in the community as an asymptomatic carrier and people were afraid and anxious about them. To the extent thateven the families of hospital staff experienced this social stigma, and many people cut off contact with them. In addition to the stigma that medical staff received from people during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were stigmatized and feared that as an asymptomatic carrier they would endanger the health of their families and those around them. For this reason, they tried to limit social communication and be more present at home and at work. Hospital staff were among the first to deal with the deadly virus and relinquish their physical health. Many nurses and physicians stay awake for long hours to save the lives of patients with COVID-19. Unfortunately, we have seen people fear and avoid the hospital staff, which has led to increased burnout and depression in the medical staff. For this purpose, it is necessary to take measures to socially motivate the medical staff of hospitals by the Ministry of Education and Health.