Towards the sociology of stigma as a process: The case of COVID-19 stigmatization to Filipino frontline nurses

• Main Author: Buenaventura, John Ryan Asuncion
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Stigma (Social psychology); Stigmatization; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; Nurses > Philippines; Sociology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdd_behsc/3; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdd_behsc/article/1004/viewcontent/2024_Buenaventur_TOWARDS_THE_SOCIOLOGY_OF_STIGMA_AS_A_PROCESS__Full_text.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in stigmatization among healthcare workers. However, there was limited exposition on the pandemic-induced stigma, especially in sociology. Given that, this dissertation aimed to characterize the process of a pandemic-induced stigma faced by Filipino frontline nurses using sociological analysis to determine the origins of stigma symbolism, changes in life opportunities, and elicited responses of frontline nurses embedded within their narratives. The research utilized a qualitative interpretative approach, specifically narrative inquiry, using Riessman’s Narrative Analysis Framework to reconstruct narratives into story elements through the participants’ imposition of order and flow. The research had eight frontline nurses interviewed and produced 164 reconfigured narratives. The analysis of narratives revealed how the COVID-19 pandemic constituted the rise of stigma among frontline nurses through the alterations in their identities. The results presented that the COVID-19 stigma overlapped with other concurrent stigmatization nurses were experiencing. The plots and themes of their narratives were identified, manifested in the pandemic episodes, and associated with nurses’ responses to stigmatization. In conclusion, COVID-19 stigma caused an event stigma influenced by pre-existing inequalities and resulted in a stigmatization process.