Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your great support in our last Special Issue of “Stigma, Health, and Well-Being”(https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/ijerph/special_issues/stigma). We have finally published a total of 24 original papers covering diverse populations, including different ethnic people (Caucasian, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Korean, Hong Kong people, and Saudi Arabian populations), disability types (physical disability and mental health problems), conditions (transgender, weight problems, and caregiving), and human developmental stages (adolescence and young adults). After editing the first Special Issue of “Stigma, Health and Wellbeing”, we are glad to learn that the world is taking the issue of stigmatization seriously and is finding a way to tackle this complex challenge. However, we believe that our first Special Issue of “Stigma, Health and Wellbeing” is just the beginning, and more evidence and empirical studies on the issue of stigmatization and how stigmatization impacts human livings are needed.

As mentioned in our first Special Issue of “Stigma, Health and Wellbeing”, stigmas can be conceptualized as the co-occurrence of the following: (i) Distinguishing differences and labeling; (ii) negatively stereotyping those who are labeled as different; (iii) separating labeled people from unlabeled people (e.g., using “us” vs. “them”); (iv) emotional reactions, such as anger and hatred, among both those who do the labeling and those who are labeled; (v) the labeled group experiencing status loss and discrimination; (vi) the economic, social, political, and power domains that enable these processes to unfold. We consider that the current era, struck by the COVID-19 pandemic, may deepen the impact of stigmas (e.g., suspicious COVID-19 cases and stigmatization of healthcare providers). Those originally stigmatized prior to the pandemic may receive less healthcare resources because of the interaction between stigmatization and COVID-19. That is, the government may reallocate the healthcare resources to COVID-19 prevention and thus reduce the resources available to those who have been stigmatized. Therefore, understating the issue of stigmatization during the COVID-19 era is important. Although we are interested in the stigma, health, and well-being issues under COVID-19, we also welcome other relevant submissions on the issue of stigmatization that are not directly related to COVID-19.

In this Special Issue, we intend to address this knowledge gap and invite the submission of papers that explore and shed light on the relationship between stigmatization and any aspect of health. Reviews, observational studies, case vignettes, and randomized experimental trials are welcome. If you have an idea and do not know whether it falls into the scope of this Special Issue, you may contact either one of the Guest Editors (Dr. Chung-Ying Lin or Prof. Dr. Hector Tsang).

Dr. Chung-Ying Lin
Prof. Dr. Hector Tsang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Discrimination
• Help-seeking behavior
• Physical health
• Prejudice
• Psychosocial health
• Quality of life
• Stigma
• Wellbeing
• COVID-19

• Stigma, Health and Wellbeing in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (25 articles)
• 3rd Edition of Stigma, Health and Wellbeing in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (4 articles)