Determinants of discriminatory workplace attitudes related to COVID-19: evidence from the early stage of the epidemic outbreak in China

Recovered COVID-19 patients could face occupational discrimination when they are post-recovery workforce reintegration. This study aims to assess the determinants of discriminatory workplace attitudes towards recovered COVI-19 patients in the early stages of the epidemic in China, to provide a scientific reference for formulating measures to mitigate workplace discrimination in infectious disease prevention and control. Discriminatory workplace attitudes against recovered COVID-19 patients were evaluated using two scenario-based questions. The independent variables encompassed demographic characteristics, healthcare-related factors, regional classification, COVID-19 awareness components, exposure history, and pandemic knowledge. 27 cities in 9 provinces in China were selected randomly according to the gross domestic product ranking and geographical distribution. A total of 100 participants per city were surveyed using a structured questionnaire from May to June 2020. From the initial 2,700 questionnaires distributed, 2,377 valid responses were obtained, yielding an effective response rate of 88.04%. Pearson chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to test the correlation between discriminatory attitudes and potential determinants. 55.66% of respondents displayed discriminatory workplace attitudes related to COVID-19. Sex, age, occupation, region, infection status of relatives and friends, perceived infection risk, perceived COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and COVID-19 knowledge score were significantly correlated with discriminatory workplace attitudes (p < 0.05). Based on the key findings of this study, we recommended COVID-19 information campaigns to reduce workplace discrimination including accurate information on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy, COVID-19 knowledge, especially for the key intervention populations including females, the elderly, residents in central region and migrant workers.