Stigma during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic of checkpoint for border trade, Mae Hong Son Province

Abstract

This article aims to review the current literature on social stigma in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to examine situation and strategies to reduce the stigma, at the first-time report of onset COVID-19 patient at the checkpoint for border trade of Mae Hong Son Province. The narrative reviews on stigma and the participation observation were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to draw a conclusion from the stigma situation, and strategies that used to reduce social stigma, and then compose a review article in Thai. The results show that strategies to reduce social stigma was divided into 2 levels as follows: 1) structure level which was a building of supportive social network and cooperation in all sectors, and 2) interpersonal level which provided good practices as new normal life and adjusted personal attitude of people in the community. Therefore, the knowledge of stigma in COVID-19 pandemic were from the combination of previous knowledge from international outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging diseases that occurred in the past. The findings about reducing of social stigma in this article should be used as guideline to prevent and reduce the stigma effect in the other border areas of Thailand, and applied to the outbreak of other emerging diseases for the future.