The moderating role of resilience in the relationship between experiences of COVID-19 response-related discrimination and disinformation among people who inject drugs

Due to the persistence of COVID-19, it remains important to measure and examine potential barriers to COVID-19 prevention and treatment to avert additional loss of life, particularly among stigmatized populations, such as people who inject drugs (PWID), who are at high risk for contracting and spreading SARS-CoV-2. We assessed the psychometrics of a novel COVID-19 response-related discrimination scale among PWID, and characterized associations between COVID-19 response-related discrimination, resilience to adversity, and endorsement of COVID-19 disinformation. We assessed internal reliability, structural validity and construct validity of a 4-item COVID-19 response-related discrimination scale among PWID living in San Diego County, completing interviewer-administered surveys between October 2020 and September 2021. Using negative binomial regression, we assessed the relationship between COVID-19 response-related discrimination and disinformation and the potential moderating role of resilience. Of 381 PWID, mean age was 42.6 years and the majority were male (75.6 %) and Hispanic (61.9 %). The COVID-19 response-related discrimination scale had modest reliability (α = 0.66, ω = 0.66) as a single construct with acceptable construct validity (all p ≤ 0.05). Among 216 PWID who completed supplemental surveys, a significant association between COVID-19 response-related discrimination and COVID-19 disinformation was observed, which was moderated by resilience (p = 0.044). Specifically, among PWID with high levels of resilience, endorsement of COVID-19 disinformation significantly increased as exposure to COVID-19 response-related discrimination increased (p = 0.011). These findings suggest that intervening on COVID-19 response-related discrimination may offset the negative outcomes associated with COVID-19 disinformation. •We validated a COVID-19 response-related discrimination scale among PWID, providing researchers a tool to assess its impact on PWID.•We found that a 4-item COVID-19 response-related discrimination scale had modest internal reliability and construct validity among PWID .•COVID-19 response-related discrimination was associated with endorsing COVID-19 disinformation and resilience modified this relationship.•When addressing COVID-19 disinformation efforts should acknowledge existing inequalities and harms that stigmatized groups have endured.•Intervening upon COVID-19 response-related discrimination may offset the negative outcomes associated with C