TY - JOUR
T1 - Stigma and misconceptions in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - a field experiment in India
AU - Islam, Asad
AU - Pakrashi, Debayan
AU - Vlassopoulos, Michael
AU - Wang, Liang Choon
N1 - Funding Information:
* This project was supported by funding provided by the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES), Monash University. Ethical clearance for this project came from the Institutional Ethics Committee at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (Approval number IITK/IEC/2019-20-II/June/1 ). This study is pre-registered at the American Economic Association RCT Registry (AEA pre-registration ID: AEARCTR-0006011 ).
Funding Information:
We acknowledge the funding support from the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability which made this research possible. The study has received ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (Approval number IITK/IEC/2019-20-II/June/1 ). The study is also pre-registered at the AEA RCT Registry (AEA pre-registration ID: AEARCTR-0006011).
Funding Information:
* This project was supported by funding provided by the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability (CDES), Monash University. Ethical clearance for this project came from the Institutional Ethics Committee at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (Approval number IITK/IEC/2019-20-II/June/1). This study is pre-registered at the American Economic Association RCT Registry (AEA pre-registration ID: AEARCTR-0006011).We acknowledge the funding support from the Centre for Development Economics and Sustainability which made this research possible. The study has received ethical clearance from the Institutional Ethics Committee at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (Approval number IITK/IEC/2019-20-II/June/1). The study is also pre-registered at the AEA RCT Registry (AEA pre-registration ID: AEARCTR-0006011).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - A hidden cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is the stigma associated with the disease for those infected and groups that are considered as more likely to be infected. This paper examines whether the provision of accurate and focused information about COVID-19 from a reliable source can reduce stigmatization. We carry out a randomized field experiment in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in which we provide an information brief about COVID-19 by phone to a random subsample of participants to address stigma and misconceptions. We find that the information brief decreases stigmatization of COVID-19 patients and certain groups such as religious minorities, lower-caste groups, and frontline workers (healthcare, police), and reduces the belief that infection cases are more prevalent among certain marginalized social and economic groups (Muslims, low caste, rural-poor population). We provide suggestive evidence that improved knowledge about the prevention and transmission of COVID-19 and reduced stress about the disease are important channels for the reduction in stigmatization.
AB - A hidden cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is the stigma associated with the disease for those infected and groups that are considered as more likely to be infected. This paper examines whether the provision of accurate and focused information about COVID-19 from a reliable source can reduce stigmatization. We carry out a randomized field experiment in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in which we provide an information brief about COVID-19 by phone to a random subsample of participants to address stigma and misconceptions. We find that the information brief decreases stigmatization of COVID-19 patients and certain groups such as religious minorities, lower-caste groups, and frontline workers (healthcare, police), and reduces the belief that infection cases are more prevalent among certain marginalized social and economic groups (Muslims, low caste, rural-poor population). We provide suggestive evidence that improved knowledge about the prevention and transmission of COVID-19 and reduced stress about the disease are important channels for the reduction in stigmatization.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Experiment
KW - Infodemics
KW - Information
KW - Misconceptions
KW - Stigma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106143465&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113966
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113966
M3 - Article
C2 - 33940435
AN - SCOPUS:85106143465
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 278
JO - Social Science & Medicine
JF - Social Science & Medicine
M1 - 113966
ER -