STIGMA MASYARAKAT TENTANG COVID-19 DI KECAMATAN TIRTOYUDO

Background: Stigma is part of prejudice and people with prejudice will refer to discriminatory treatment of others. The existence of this social stigma causes people who experience symptoms or are even declared positive for COVID-19, choosing to hide it because many see that discrimination has occurred. People can then become defensive by hiding their problems and preventing them from seeking appropriate treatment, which makes preventing the spread of the disease even more difficult. The purpose of this study was to find out how society stigmatizes patients who are infected with Covid-19. This research method uses qualitative research. Qualitative research, data collection method using interviews and field observations using a sampling method or purposive sampling, this method is a sampling technique by determining certain criteria, Respondent 1 is Mr. F who has a stigma against COVID-19, Respondent 2 is Mrs. R who is also the mother of Mr. F who knows Mr. F's daily life, Respondent 3 is Mr. A who has been stigmatized by the surrounding community because of being positive for COVID-19, the method of testing the validity of the data using the Triangulation method The results of the theme results from this study obtained 4 themes, namely, stigma in the form of exclusion of Covid-19 patients, handling of patients with positive Covid-19, signs and symptoms of Covid-19 patients, the origin of contracting Covid-19. Discussion. The results of the discussion can be concluded that the transmission of Covid-19 can be anywhere anytime and anywhere we leave the house, and also many people still think negatively about Covid-19 patients which may lead to an increase in unknown Covid-19 patients for fear of being stigmatized. or fear of being ostracized by the local community