Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-r5qjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-13T01:34:11.628Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Perceived work-related stigma in healthcare workers and presence of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

C. Vincent ,
H. Scarlett ,
M. Melchior  and
C. Vuillermoz
C. Vincent*
Affiliation:
Team of social epidemiology, Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique Inserm
H. Scarlett
Affiliation:
Inserm Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris
M. Melchior
Affiliation:
Inserm Institut Pierre Louis d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Paris
C. Vuillermoz
Affiliation:
Inserm Université de Versailles, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between work-related stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Whilst it is possible that shared social characteristics explain the link between stigma and PTSD, this article hypothesizes that work-related stigma is itself associated with symptoms of PTSD.

Objectives

This study examined whether work-related stigma was associated with PTSD symptoms one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of French healthcare workers (HCWs).

Methods

Data were based on an online survey that recruited HCWs working during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of PTSD symptoms was assessed using the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) with a cut-off score of ≥33. Work-related stigma was defined as the perception of having been treated differently and unfairly because of one’s profession.The relationship between work-related stigma and PTSD symptoms was tested using propensity scores including all relevant confounding factors: financial and social support, and work-related,or pandemic-related factors.

Results

Among the 655 respondents, 71.6% were physicians, 11.1% were nurses, and 17.3% had other occupations. A total of 53 participants (8.7%) presented symptoms of PTSD. We found an association between work-related stigma and PTSD symptoms (OR 2.13, 95% CI [1.04;4.35]) one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic adjusted for propensity scores including relevant confounding factors.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that work-related stigma is associated with PTSD symptoms among HCWs. This association was independent of social characteristics known to influence both stigma and PTSD. Work-related stigma may be a propitious occupational risk factor to target in order to improve HCWs work conditions and mental health.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S969
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.