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. 2023 Mar;86(4):1432-1448.
doi: 10.1177/00302228211008753. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Understanding of Stigmatization and Death Amid COVID-19 in India: A Sociological Exploration

Sarita Kumari  1
Affiliations

Understanding of Stigmatization and Death Amid COVID-19 in India: A Sociological Exploration

Sarita Kumari. Omega (Westport). 2023 Mar.

Abstract

The unanticipated outbreak of Coronavirus had proven detrimental to human existence. It had created waves of panic, anxiety, and fear among people hence facilitating stigmatization toward an infected person. This stigmatization further influences patients health-seeking behaviour due to the trust deficit in the public health system. The virus had placed the world in an impotent situation as people helplessly watched their loved ones pass away in the absence of effective treatment. Dead bodies are denied a dignified death due to mandatory guidelines prescribed by countries to control the pandemic. This article attempts to understand the process of stigmatization of Coronavirus and its mechanism of influencing the health-seeking behaviour of people. Moreover, the way this stigmatization, accompanied by fear and anxiety, led to the denial of having a dignified death in India.

Keywords: coronavirus; crematorium and bereaved families; death; health seeking behaviour; stigmatization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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