Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34715825›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2021

Stigma toward Wuhan people during the COVID-19 epidemic: an exploratory study based on social media.

Yazheng Di, Ang Li, He Li, Peijing Wu, Simin Yang, Meng Zhu, Tingshao Zhu, Xiaoqian Liu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.

Yazheng DiCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China.
Ang LiDepartment of Psychology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China.
He LiCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China.
Peijing WuCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China.
Simin YangDepartment of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
Meng ZhuHubei University of Economics, Wuhan, 430205, China.
Tingshao ZhuCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China.
Xiaoqian LiuCAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, 100101, China. liuxiaoqian@psych.ac.cn.
Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences · CNBeijing Forestry University · CNBeijing Normal University · CNHubei University Of Economics · CNUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences · CN

Funding

China Social Science Fund 17AZD041
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStigma associated with infectious diseases is common and causes various negative effects on stigmatized people. With Wuhan as the center of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, its people were likely to be the target of stigmatization. To evaluate the severity of stigmatization toward Wuhan people and provide necessary information for stigma mitigation, this study aimed to identify the stigmatizing attitudes toward Wuhan people and trace their changes as COVID-19 progresses in China by analyzing related posts on social media.

methodsWe collected 19,780 Weibo posts containing the keyword 'Wuhan people' and performed a content analysis to identify stigmatizing attitudes in the posts. Then, we divided our observation time into three periods and performed repeated-measures ANOVA to compare the differences in attitudes during the three periods.

resultsThe results showed that stigma was mild, with 2.46% of related posts being stigmatizing. The percentages of stigmatizing posts differed significantly during the three periods. The percentages of 'Infectious' posts and 'Stupid' posts were significantly different for the three periods. The percentage of 'Irresponsible' posts was not significantly different for the three periods. After government interventions, stigma did not decrease significantly, and stigma with the 'Infectious' attitude even increased. It was not until the government interventions took effect that stigma significantly reduced.

conclusionsThis study found that stigma toward Wuhan people included diverse attitudes and changed at different periods. After government interventions but before they took effect, stigma with the 'Infectious' attitude increased. After government interventions took effect, general stigma and stigmas with 'Infectious' and 'Stupid' attitudes decreased. This study constituted an important endeavor to understand the stigma toward Wuhan people in China during the COVID-19 epidemic. Implications for stigma reduction and improvement of the public's perception during different periods of epidemic control are discussed.

Indexed as

COVID-19EpidemicsSocial MediaHumansSARS-CoV-2Social StigmaCOVID-19Infectious diseaseSocial mediaStigmaWeibo

Identifiers

PMID34715825
PMCPMC8554505
OpenAlexW3163791129

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.