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Disclosure experience among COVID‐19‐confirmed patients in China: A qualitative study
Author(s) -
Sun Wenxiu,
Zhou Ying,
Chen WeiTi,
Huang Feifei,
Sun Meiyan,
Shen Lei,
Gao Yan,
Zhang Qing,
Ma Siyue,
Shiu Chengshi,
Zhang Lin,
Lu Hongzhou
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.15616
Subject(s) - thematic analysis , qualitative research , distress , psychology , social stigma , stigma (botany) , covid-19 , government (linguistics) , pandemic , social isolation , medicine , clinical psychology , nursing , family medicine , disease , psychiatry , infectious disease (medical specialty) , social science , linguistics , philosophy , pathology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , sociology
Aim To understand COVID patients’ experiences of and perspectives on disclosure of their illness and to explore and describe the factors affecting disclosure decisions among COVID patients in China. Background Disease disclosure is a critical component of prevention and control of a virus outbreak, and this is especially true during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Understanding COVID patients’ experiences and perspectives on disclosure could play a vital role in COVID management. Design A qualitative study. Methods A semi‐structured interview guide was used to conduct qualitative in‐depth interviews from April to June 2020. All the interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed, and then, a thematic analysis was conducted. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) were applied to this study. Results A total of 26 COVID‐confirmed patients were recruited for the in‐depth interviews. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis on disclosure: persons disclosed to, reasons for disclosure, reasons for nondisclosure and impact of disclosure. The participants disclosed their COVID diagnosis to different groups, including family, close friends, community members and workplace contacts. The main reasons for disclosure included the following: government policy, social responsibility, gaining support and fear of being blamed for nondisclosure. However, some participants decided not to disclose to some groups for fear of facing stigma and discrimination or to protect family members from discrimination. Despite the potential benefits of obtaining support after disclosure, many participants did experience stigma and discrimination, privacy exposure, psychological distress and social isolation. Conclusions An individual's decision as to whether to disclose their COVID‐positive status is affected by many factors. To prevent the spread of COVID‐19 and reduce the potential risks of disclosure, such as discrimination and privacy exposure, a balanced intervention should be designed to protect COVID patients and to secure any contact tracing. Therefore, the chances of discrimination could be decreased and patients’ confidentiality could be protected. Relevance to Clinical Practice As the number of COVID patients increases, disclosure of an individual's infectious status is encouraged by health departments. Despite the potential benefits of disclosure, discrimination and privacy exposure should not be ignored. A disclosure protocol is necessary to ensure patients’ privacy regarding their COVID status.