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Defensive medicine has two forms: positive (assurance behavior) or negative (avoidance behavior), depending on the clinical situation. Defensive medicine minimizes the risk of litigation and tends to vary between surgical and non-surgical specialties due to the nature of the risks involved and the potential for litigation. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and patterns of defensive medicine practice among Egyptian physicians, compare surgical versus non-surgical specialties, and examine their correlation with medico-legal complaints and occupational determinants. This cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians from surgical and non-surgical specialties working in different Egyptian hospitals. A self-administered online questionnaire was distributed using the snowball sampling technique. The Defensive Medicine Behavior Scale (DMBS) was used to assess the practice of defensive medicine. A sample of 210 physicians with a mean age of 39 ± 7 years was included; 51.4% held the highest qualification of M.D. or Ph.D., with an equal sex distribution (1:1). There was a high level of defensive medicine practice in both surgical and non-surgical specialties: 41.7% and 39.5%, respectively. However, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (P-value >0.05). Regression analysis showed that working at university hospitals and having workplace insurance coverage for medico-legal claims were associated with fewer positive defensive medicine practices. Conversely, concerns about the financial implications of medico-legal claims and negative reactions from patients or families were associated with a greater prevalence of positive defensive medicine practices. Despite the high prevalence of defensive medicine practices, no statistically significant differences were observed between the surgical and non-surgical groups regarding overall engagement in defensive medicine.

Social stigma associated with infectious diseases existed throughout the history of pandemics due to fears of contagion and death. This study aims to assess social and self-stigma resulting from COVID-19 infection and other associated factors in Egypt during the pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 533 adult Egyptians via an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included social stigma toward current and recovered COVID-19 patients and the negative self-image of being a COVID-19 patient. The mean calculated overall COVID-19-related stigma score for the studied sample was 4.7±3.1. The highest reported stigma category was mild stigma: Social stigma towards current COVID-19 patients (88.2%), Social stigma toward recovered COVID-19 patients (64.2%), Negative self-image for being a COVID-19 patient; perceived self-stigma (71.6%) and total stigma score (88.2%) respectively. The overall stigma score was negatively associated with a higher level of education and getting information from healthcare workers and positively associated with getting information from social networks. Social and self-stigma related to COVID-19 infection was mild from the Egyptian perspective but found in a large proportion of the population and mainly affected by getting information from healthcare workers or through social media and being more among those with lower education levels. The study recommends more legislative control on social media for disseminating health-related information and conducting awareness campaigns to counteract these adverse effects.

Background Social stigma associated with infectious diseases existed throughout the history of pandemics due to fears of contagion and death. This study aims to assess social and self-stigma resulting from COVID-19 infection and other associated factors in Egypt during the pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 533 adult Egyptians via an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included social stigma toward current and recovered COVID-19 patients and the negative self-image of being a COVID-19 patient. Results The mean calculated overall COVID-19-related stigma score for the studied sample was 4.7±3.1. The highest reported stigma category was mild stigma: Social stigma towards current COVID-19 patients (88.2%), Social stigma toward recovered COVID-19 patients (64.2%), Negative self-image for being a COVID-19 patient; perceived self-stigma (71.6%) and total stigma score (88.2%) respectively. The overall stigma score was negatively associated with a higher level of education and getting information from healthcare workers and positively associated with getting information from social networks. Conclusion Social and self-stigma related to COVID-19 infection was mild from the Egyptian perspective but found in a large proportion of the population and mainly affected by getting information from healthcare workers or through social media and being more among those with lower education levels. The study recommends more legislative control on social media for disseminating health-related information and conducting awareness campaigns to counteract these adverse effects.