Development and Validation of the Public Covid-19 Stigma Scale in the Iranian Population

Stigma measuring instruments have been developed for infectious and health-threatening diseases such as AIDS. There are no specific measuring instruments for measuring public stigma related to Covid-19.

The present study was a quantitative normalization study. A total of 322 people who were over 18 years old, living in Isfahan city and satisfied with the cooperation, participated in the study through Internet calling. To develop the scale, in-depth interviews were conducted with 40 participants (20 without and 20 with a history of corona-virus artery disease). Based on the content analysis of the interviews and the theory of Phelan and Link (2013), the initial questionnaire was designed with 20 items. Face validity, content validity index, and construct validity were used for assessing validity. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient was used to evaluate the reliability.

The final form of the questionnaire with 12 items and three factors, including stereotypes, negative feelings, and avoidance behaviors, has the appropriate face validity, content validity index, and structure validity. Cronbach's alpha coefficient above 0.7 indicates the reliability of this questionnaire.

The public stigma Covid-19  questionnaire has good validity and reliability and can be used as a scientific and valid tool in measuring coronavirus stigma.