Mpox, AIDS and COVID-19 show the challenges of targeting public health messaging to specific groups without causing stigma

The racial and sexual stigma surrounding monkeypox is what spurred the WHO to rename the disease to mpox in November 2022.

During infectious disease outbreaks, clinicians and public health officials are tasked with providing accurate guidance for the public on how to stay safe and protect themselves and their loved ones. However, sensationalised media coverage can distort how the public perceives new emerging infections, including where they come from and how they spread. This can foster fear and stigma, especially toward communities that are already mistrustful of the health care system.

The racial and sexual stigma surrounding monkeypox is what spurred the World Health Organization (WHO) to rename the disease to mpox in November 2022. While this is a step in the right direction, I believe more work needs to be done to reduce the stigma surrounding infectious diseases like mpox.

I am an infectious disease researcher who studies HIV, COVID-19 and mpox. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was the lead investigator at the University of Pittsburgh for a national survey looking at how COVID-19 has affected different communities. Effective public health communication isn’t easy when conflicting messages may come from many sources, including family and friends, other community members or the internet. But there are ways that public health officials can make their own messaging more inclusive while mitigating stigma.

Inclusive public health messaging can motivate the public to make better decisions regarding their personal health and the health of others. This effort often involves engaging the communities most affected by an outbreak. Unfortunately, because these communities are heavily affected by the infection and tend to experience some form of inequity, they are often blamed by society for spreading the disease.

COVID-19 drove an increase in hate crimes related to the pandemic against Chinese and other Asian communities in the United States. A 2022 UCLA survey found that 8% of Asian American and Pacific Islander adults in California experienced a COVID-19 related hate incident.

Effective public health messaging can focus on the fact that while infections may first affect certain groups of people, they often spread to other groups and eventually encompass entire communities. Infections are caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi. They don’t discriminate by race, gender or sexual orientation. Messages that focus on the pathogens, rather than the communities, may reduce stigma.

Also Read | Omicron subvariant BF.7, linked to China spike, first found in India in July