ArticlePloS one2020
Myths, misconceptions, othering and stigmatizing responses to Covid-19 in South Africa: A rapid qualitative assessment.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- The scar that takes time to heal: A systematic review of COVID-19-related stigma targets, antecedents, and outcomes.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Beyond COVID-19: Behavioral Drivers of Pandemic Prevention in Ghana's Informal Urban Settlements.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026Article
- A Qualitative Exploration of Policy, Institutional, and Social Misconceptions Faced by Individuals with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- How the General Public Navigates Health Misinformation on Social Media: Qualitative Study of Identification and Response Approaches.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Article
- A persona-based exploration of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis seeking behavior and its implication for communication strategic planning: Evidence from Thailand.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on place of death for disease-related causes: a population-based study in Nanchang, China.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Exploring barriers to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe: a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Factors influencing uptake of COVID-19 diagnostics in Sub-Saharan Africa: a rapid scoping review.PloS one · 2025Article
- An assessment of excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, a retrospective post-mortem surveillance in 12 districts - Zambia, 2020-2022.BMC public health · 2024Article
- "When selling anything to an audience, visible publicity is key:" experiences, barriers, and enablers to participate in a COVID-19 study in Malawi.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Compassionate Othering: the construction of refugee patients in medical students' narratives - a qualitative study using story completion.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Community responses to corona virus disease (COVID-19) in Africa in the face of "Infodemic": A scoping review.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2024Article
- COVID-19-related stigma within a rural South African community: A mixed methods analysis.PloS one · 2024Article
- "SAHARA J : journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance · 2023Article
- Clinical characteristics and variables associated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in Luanda, Angola, in the first year of the pandemic.African health sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Effects of the Fear of COVID-19 and Efficacy of Coping Behavior for Infectious Diseases after the End of COVID-19: Moderating Effects of Cyberchondria and eHealth Literacy.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- COVID-19 second wave and clinical characteristics of cases in Uganda: A retrospective cross-sectional survey of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases, March-June 2021.Epidemiology and infection · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new strain of virus in the Coronavirus family that has not been previously identified. Since SARS-CoV-2 is a new virus, everyone is at risk of catching the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). No one has immunity to the virus. Despite this, misconceptions about specific groups of people who are immune to Covid-19 emerged with the onset of the pandemic. This paper explores South African communities' misconceptions about who is most vulnerable to Covid-19. A rapid qualitative assessment was conducted remotely in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape provinces of South Africa. Recruitment of study participants took place through established relationships with civil society organizations and contacts made by researchers. In total, 60 key informant interviews and one focus group discussion was conducted. Atlas.ti.8 Windows was used to facilitate qualitative data analysis. The qualitative data was coded, and thematic analysis used to identify themes. The results show a high level of awareness and knowledge of the transmission and prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Qualitative data revealed that there is awareness of elderly people and those with immunocompromised conditions being more vulnerable to catching Covid-19. However, misconceptions of being protected against the virus or having low or no risk were also evident in the data. We found that false information circulated on social media not only instigated confusion, fear and panic, but also contributed to the construction of misconceptions, othering and stigmatizing responses to Covid-19. The study findings bring attention to the importance of developing communication materials adapted to specific communities to help reduce misconceptions, othering and stigmatization around Covid-19.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.