Researchers from the Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI) have recently published a new outbreak-related stigma measurement tool in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Stigma can occur when a person or group is denied full social acceptance because of association with an illness that is considered bad or shameful by others in their society. This can make it harder to control a disease outbreak. Stigma can make people delay seeking medical care, discourage participation in research and hinder community reintegration. It can also have lasting socio-economic impacts on affected individuals and communities.
Public health professionals are increasingly recognising the importance of addressing stigma when controlling a disease outbreak. To date, there isn’t a standardised tool to measure stigma across multiple outbreaks and countries, making it difficult for researchers to accurately monitor stigma in different disease outbreak contexts.
Now, PSI researchers collaborating through the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium (ISARIC) have co-developed the first ever tool to assess stigma across outbreak contexts, known as (Re)-emerging and ePidemic Infectious Diseases (RAPID) Stigma Scales.
Published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the RAPID Stigma Scales were developed through work with communities affected by mpox, Ebola, and Nipah. The tool will standardise and speed-up real-time assessment of and response to stigma during infectious disease outbreaks.
Dr Amy Paterson, PSI DPhil student and leader of the research, said: ‘We’re hoping that having these scales available from the start of an outbreak will support earlier and more rigorous consideration of stigma in future outbreak responses. That’s important—not only for identifying where support is needed—but also for developing effective, respectful, and trusted response measures. In the long term, we hope these tools help make stigma monitoring a routine part of outbreak public health practices.’
While stigma scales are used routinely for certain diseases such as HIV, existing stigma scales are often disease-specific and applied late in outbreak response efforts. This means they cannot inform outbreak control efforts.
In contrast, the RAPID Stigma Scales have been rigorously designed to enable faster, real-time assessment of stigma across outbreak settings, enabling responders to design targeted interventions to improve health outcomes and promote equitable care.