Stigma

Leprosy is strongly stigmatized in South Asia, being regarded as a manifestation of extreme levels of spiritual pollution going back through one or more incarnations of the self. Stigma has significant social consequences, including surveillance , exclusion, discipline, control, and punishment; biologically speaking, internalized stigma also compounds the disfigurement and disability resulting from this disease. Stigma results from an othering process whereby difference is recognized, meaning is constituted, and eventually, sufferers may be negatively signified and marked for exclusion. This paper traces the history of leprosy's stigmatization in South Asia, using archaeology and an exegesis of Vedic texts to examine the meaning of this disease from its apparent zero-point—when it first appears but before it was differentiated and signified—in the mature Indus Age. Results suggest that early in the second millennium BCE, leprosy was perceived as treatable and efforts were apparently made to mitigate its impact on the journey to the afterworld. Ignominy to the point of exclusion does not emerge until the first millennium BCE. This paper uses archaeology to create an effective history of stigma for leprosy, destabilizing what is true about this disease and its sufferers in South Asia today.

In “Physician Burnout Calls for Legal Intervention” (November-December 2019), Sharona Hoffman calls for a “requirement” in the form of a “mandate that health care employers measure physician wellness using the [Maslach Burnout Inventory] (or another reliable tool) and report outcomes to [the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]” (p. 9). Such a requirement would be unlawful under the Americans with Disabilities Act’s rules on prohibited medical examinations of employees.

Sharona Hoffman’s response to my letter states “employers may require periodic job-related medical examinations of all employees ‘in positions affecting public safety.’ As I argued in my commentary, doctors, to whom patients entrust their health every day, have safety-critical jobs.”

This comparison is inapt. As Ilene N. Moore, Screening Older Physicians for Cognitive Impairment: Justifiable or Discriminatory, 28 HEALTH MATRIX 95, 140 (2018) recently explained: “any interpretation suggesting that that physicians are in a position affecting public safety is not supported by the statutory language of the ADA, the EEOC Enforcement Guidance, or EEOC correspondence. Only one federal law defines some physicians as public safety officers: physicians who serve as part of a public rescue squad or ambulance as defined by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.” (internal citations omitted).

Personal bankruptcies in the United States have increased dramatically, rising from 1.4 per thousand working age population in 1970 to 8.5 in 2002. We use a heterogeneous agent life-cycle model with competitive financial intermediaries who can observe households' earnings, age and current asset holdings to evaluate several commonly offered explanations. We find that increased uncertainty (income shocks, expense uncertainty) cannot quantitatively account for the rise in bankruptcies. Instead, stories related to a change in the credit market environment are more plausible. In particular, we find that a combination of a decrease in the transactions cost of lending and a decline in the cost of bankruptcy does a good job in accounting for the rise in consumer bankruptcy. We also argue that the abolition of usury laws and other legal changes are unimportant.

Eating disorders in males are understudied, underrecognised and misunderstood. Despite evidence that males constitute 25-33% of diagnoses of anorexia and bulimia nervosa, and up to 50% of diagnoses of binge eating disorder, limited research has focused on the “male experience” of eating and body image concerns. In addition, researchers and clinicians have only recently begun to focus on the role that muscularity plays in males with eating and body image psychopathology. We present evidence that disordered eating behaviours are increasing more rapidly in men than in women, particularly with regard to binge eating. We further present a clinical comparison of men with anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia (“reverse anorexia”) and review community-held attitudes and beliefs about people with these conditions. We conclude with a discussion of clinical treatment guidelines for males with eating disorders. This workshop will (1) present an overview of the evidence base pertinent to males with eating disorders, (2) evaluate evidence for the prevalence of disordered eating amongst males, compare the phenomenology of muscle dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa, and review the stigmatization of males with anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia. Finally, this workshop 3) details treatment guidelines for clinicians working with males.

Early access to mental health services is considered important but a number of  barriers cause delay or deter individuals from seeking professional help. Studies have
suggested that 50%-80% of individuals in need of mental health services do not seek  professional help. A gap exists in the literature regarding the relationship between
stigmatized attitudes toward mental health and help-seeking behavior. This study evaluated the relationship between 3 components of stigmatized attitudes (anger,
blame, and danger) held by 165 randomly selected adult members of the general  public in London, England, as measured by the Attribution Questionnaire, and the
relationship to help-seeking propensity, as measured by the Inventory of Attitudes  Toward Seeking Mental Health Services. The theoretical foundation for this study
was attribution theory and the theory of planned behavior as they both provided a framework for understanding and predicting these relationships. Multiple regression
analysis revealed a negative relationship for both anger and blame when compared  with help-seeking propensity thereby rejecting the null hypothesis. The results for
danger and help-seeking propensity, however, were not statistically significant. The implications for social change include deepening the understanding of what may deter
individuals from seeking professional help. Furthering knowledge in this field will provide clinicians, health policy makers, and researchers with a greater understanding
of what influences help-seeking behavior and result in more effort to remove any identified barriers.

Although consensual non-monogamies have grown in exposure and popularity among both the public and academics, they remain largely marginalized and stigmatized. While some research has examined individuals’ perceptions of non-monogamies as a whole, few have focused specifically on perceptions of polyamory. The aim of this study was to explore and render explicit such attitudes and perceptions using an inductive approach to research. Online unsolicited narratives were sought for the purpose of this study. A total of 482 comments posted in response to three articles on the topic of polyamory were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five overarching themes were identified: polyamory as 1) valid and beneficial; 2) unsustainable; 3) perverse, amoral, and unappealing; 4) acceptable; and 5) deficient. The findings provide insight on individuals’ reactions to polyamorous relationships and beliefs surrounding monogamy, and are further discussed in light of previous research on stigma, and of contemporary discourses on relationships, love, and commitment.

How is it that tattoos can be thought of as both a mark of social deviance and fashionable piece of artwork at the same time? This thesis examines shifting cultural attitudes toward the practice of tattooing in the United States, Japan, and Tahiti. The crosscultural and historical perspectives engaged in this study consider the ways in which these cultures have viewed the practice independently as well as how they have influenced each other, resulting in modern and often conflicting conceptions of tattoos. Tattooing as a deviant or celebratory act is examined in terms of the anthropological “other” and through the lens of Merton’s strain 
theory. From this perspective, the assessment of tattooing is dependent on the individual’s adaptation to culture goals, specifically the goal of meeting the cultural definition of attractiveness. Tattoos are distinguishing marks, and while in traditional Western and Japanese culture they can be understood in terms of the accepta ce or rejection of values, modern conceptions are most similar to traditional Tahitian tattoos because they reflect the terms of 
physical and social interactions among members of a society. 

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) refers to romantic relationships in which all partners agree to engage in sexual, romantic and/or emotional relationships with others. Within the general framework of CNM, subtypes of relationships differ in the extent to which partners intend for love and emotional involvement to be a part of their multiple relationships (that is, some relationships may prioritise love over sex with multiple partners, or vice versa). The present study examined whether individuals were more likely to stigmatise relationships that: (i) focus on loving more than one person (which is characteristic of polyamory), (ii) focus on having sex without love (which is characteristic of swinging lifestyles), or (iii) involve having sex without love without a partner's participation (which is characteristic of open relationships). In the present research, participants were assigned to read a definition of one of the three CNM relationship types (i.e. a swinging, polyamorous or open relationship) and to indicate their attitudes towards individuals who participate in those relationships. Results show that swingers were overwhelmingly perceived more negatively (e.g. less responsible) than individuals in polyamorous relationships and that people in open relationships were sometimes perceived more negatively (e.g. less moral) than people in polyamorous relationships. Overall, findings suggest that people are more uncomfortable with the idea of strictly sexual relationships (i.e. swinging relationships) than relationships involving multiple romantic/emotional attachments (i.e. polyamorous relationships).

Given the prominence of Muslim veils—in particular the hijab and full-face veil—in public discourse concerning the place of Muslims in Western society, we examined their impact on non-Muslims’ responses at both explicit and implicit levels. Results revealed that responses were more negative toward any veil compared with no veil, and more negative toward the full-face veil relative to the hijab: for emotions felt toward veiled women (Study 1), for non-affective attitudinal responses (Study 2), and for implicit negative attitudes revealed through response latency measures (Studies 3a and 3b). Finally, we manipulated the perceived reasons for wearing a veil, finding that exposure to positive reasons for wearing a veil led to better predicted and imagined contact (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Baril, Alexandre (2018). « Conférence d’honneur : “Vivre avec” la mort : développer une éthique de la reconnaissance et de la responsabilité envers les personnes suicidaires », The Poetics and Ethics of “Living With”: Indigenous, Canadian and Québécois Feminist Production Today/Les poétiques et éthiques du « vivre avec » : Productions féministes autochtones, canadiennes et québécoises de nos jours, Colloque organisé par le Canadian Literature Centre of the University of Alberta, Banff Centre, Banff, 13 octobre.

It is sometimes argued that the non-therapeutic, non-consensual alteration of children’s genitals should be discussed in two separate ethical discourses: one for girls (in which such alterations should be termed ‘female genital mutilation’ or FGM), and one for boys (in which such alterations should be termed ‘male circumcision’). In this article, I call into question the moral and empirical basis for such a distinction, and argue that all children—whether female, male, or intersex—should be free from having parts of their genitals removed unless there is a pressing medical indication.

• Employer/workplaces have an impact on mental health nursing staff's general attitudes towards persons with mental illness. • Staff have more positive attitudes if their knowledge about mental illness is less stigmatized and currently have or have once had a close friend with mental problem. • More favourable attitudes among staff towards persons with mental illness could be developed and transmitted in the subculture at work places.

Disability studies and critical trauma studies are both deeply concerned with the social construction of meaning and identity. However, these disciplines often remain mutually disengaged, inadvertently overlooking shared mechanisms of oppression that foster stigma. This article explores the novel depiction of disability and trauma in the play Amy and the Orphans by Lindsey Ferrentino. Amy, a character with Down syndrome, challenges disability stereotypes by exercising autonomy; she is not solely defined by her disability or her experiences of abuse. The theatrical narrative is one of both disability and trauma, encouraging a nuanced reflection on the origins of stigma and revealing how theatre can be used as a tool of resistance to reclaim agency through performances that challenge conventional 'disability' stereotypes.

The health care needs of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) have received significant attention from policymakers in the last several years. Recent reports from the Institute of Medicine, Healthy People 2020, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have all highlighted the need for such long-overdue attention. The health care disparities that affect this population are closely tied to sexual and social stigma. Furthermore, LGBT people aren't all alike; an understanding of the various subgroups and demographic factors is vital to providing patient-centered care. This article explores LGBT health issues and health care disparities, and offers recommendations for best practices based on current evidence and standards of care.

Background: Krokodil, a homemade injectable opioid, gained its moniker from the excessive harms associated with its use, such as ulcerations, amputations and discolored scale-like skin. While a relatively new phenomenon, krokodil use is prevalent in Russia and the Ukraine, with at least 100,000 and around 20,000 people respectively estimated to have injected the drug in 2011. In this paper we review the existing information on the production and use of krokodil, within the context of the region's recent social history. Methods: We searched PubMed, Google Advanced Search, Google Scholar, YouTube and the media search engine www.Mool.com for peer reviewed or media reports, grey literature and video reports. Survey data from HIV prevention and treatment NGOs was consulted, as well as regional experts and NGO representatives. Findings: Krokodil production emerged in an atypical homemade drug production and injecting risk environment that predates the fall of communism. Made from codeine, the active ingredient is reportedly desomorphine, but-given the rudimentary 'laboratory' conditions-the solution injected may include various opioid alkaloids as well as high concentrations of processing chemicals, responsible for the localized and systemic injuries reported here. Links between health care and law enforcement, stigma and maltreatment by medical providers are likely to thwart users seeking timely medical help. Conclusion: A comprehensive response to the emergence of krokodil and associated harms should focus both on the substance itself and its rudimentary production methods, as well as on its micro and macro risk environments-that of the ongoing syndemic of drug injecting, HIV, HCV, TB and STIs in the region and the recent upheaval in local and international heroin supply. The feasibility of harm reduction strategies for people who inject krokodil may depend more on political will than on the practical implementation of interventions. The legal status of opioid substitution treatment in Russia is a point in case.

This article critically examines the recent literature on stigma that addresses the overspread association among the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and ethnic groups (i.e., mainland Chinese and East Asian populations) assumed to be the source of the virus. The analysis begins by reviewing the way in which infectious diseases have historically been associated with developing countries and their citizens, which, in turn, are supposed to become prime vectors of contagion. The latter extends to the current labeling of COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” that—along with a number of other terms—has fueled race-based stigma against Asian groups in the United States and overseas. This review further discusses the limitations of current COVID-19 antistigma initiatives that mostly focus on individual-based education campaigns as opposed to multisectorial programs informed by human rights and intersectional perspectives. Finally, the article ends with a call to the international public health commu...

Studies worldwide have shown that people with mental illnesses (PWMI)
tend to be stigmatized and thus suffer social exclusion. The authors
investigated the attitudes of Omani people toward PWMI, and classified
their responses on the basis of socio-demographic variables (age,
gender, place of residence, place and type of employment, and previous
exposure to PWMI) that were expected to correlate with their
perceptions and attitudes towards PWMI. The data were collected by
means of an online cross-sectional survey among the general Omani
public, using the Attitude toward Mental Illness (AMI) Questionnaire. The
online method via social media was selected in view of the high levels
of literacy (93.97%), Internet usage (66.4%), and social media
participation among Omanis. Of the 601 participants, 41.4% were men
and 58.6% were women. The subjects were categorized in the age
groups of 20–30 years (48%) and 31–45 years (46%). Nearly 90% of the
participants were employed, while 10% were college students. The
results indicated that Omanis share the worldwide tendency to harbor
stigmatizing attitudes towards PWMI. The results further suggested that
socio-demographic variables (such as urban–rural dichotomy and
previous encounters with PWMI have significant correlation with
Omanis’ attitudes towards the mentally ill.

The aim of the research to be presented in this article was to explore, within an Irish context, HIV positive patients' experiences of hospitalisation, and particularly their experiences of nursing care. This paper reports on one of the dominant themes to emerge in the study-the experience of stigma among persons living with HIV during their hospitalisation. A volunteer sample of 10 former in-patients of hospitals in the Republic of Ireland's capital, Dublin, were interviewed in depth, and data were analysed using a qualitative content analysis. Findings indicate that while some participants experienced stigma from nurses, such stigma was stratified according to the means by which the disease had been contracted, with drug users expressing the greatest feelings of stigma from nurses. Data also suggest that the location of nursing care favoured by many participants was segregated care in specialist units, because it enabled them to avoid being discredited by other patients who did not have the virus, as well as potentially 2 offering social support from like-situated others. Finally, patients experienced breaches in confidentiality because of institutional policies that made their disease conspicuous, and from some nurses' nonchalance in handling information about their disease. The analysis draws on Goffman's conceptualisations of stigma to explain the social process underlying participants' accounts.

Objectives Sexual health has been considered as a necessary condition for achieving reproductive health, rather than being a part of it. This study aimed to identify the challenges of sexual health in Iran and the strategies for its improvement. Methods In this qualitative study using content analysis, a semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The participants were 16 experienced experts who were selected using a purposive sampling method. After individual interviews and theoretical data saturation, data analysis was performed using the deductive content analysis method. Results Five main themes including the taboo of sexuality and low public awareness, unconventional sexual behaviors and emerging social ills, stigma and discrimination, lack of the political commitment of the government, and lack of statistical indicators and not utilization of existing capacities were identified as the challenges of sexual health in Iran. The strategies to address them included: Public education and empowerment with a special focus on the adolescents and young people, adopting policies and revising the related laws in line with social changes; gaining the political support of the government, promoting the right attitude with a focus on banishing stigma and discrimination against groups with high-risk sexual behaviors, collecting indicators and designing interventions using human resources and existing capacities, and promoting professional ethics and gender equity. Conclusion For addressing the challenges and achieving the highest levels of sexual health in Iran, it requires the political commitment of the government, revising laws, and inter-sectoral cooperation to design and implement multidisciplinary and multidimensional interventions.

Whilst stigma and shame are central features of the experience of poverty in capitalist societies, we know relatively little about crucial aspects of these phenomena, particularly how these experiences differ according to variety of capitalist formation. This article draws on the available empirical literature to examine these relational aspects of poverty in two very different societies, the UK and Japan. Through comparing these literatures, we are able to comment on the ways in which stigma is manifest in differing social, personal and institutional contexts and, therefore, is internalised as shame in similar and divergent forms in these respective societies. We note the very different social values and forms of welfare that constitute these societies which are at times responsible for contrasting experiences of shame, yet conclude that stigma and shame perform important functions within capitalist societies as a means to legitimate the continued existence of poverty within these ...

The World Health Organisation defines health promotion as “the processof enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health”. EIIP undertook activities aimed at raising awareness of psychosis and the help available. The Early Intervention in Psychosis's health promotion strategy reduced admission by 75% between 2009-2010. The service's caseload is 69% male and the reason for this seems to be explored further.

Although many individuals are affected by psychological disorders, few will seek professional help. Cultural perceptions might complicate this, as emotional suppression and shame of mental illness predominate in some cultures. This online study investigated factors contributing to the stigma of seeking help among Asian (n=81) and Euro-Caucasian (n=472) students. Depressive symptoms mediated relations between social support and self-stigma for seeking help for mental health problems, as well as for academic problems. The role of depression in the relation between social support and other-stigma of seeking mental health and academic help differed by cultural group, in that the relation between depressive symptoms and stigma was more pronounced among Asians, suggesting that targeted efforts may need to be directed at specific populations.

This paper explores the identities projected in advertisements directed towards HIV positive individuals and people with AIDS. Fifty such advertisements were collected from three popular American magazines for gay men over a period of seven months. Analysis of the ads reveals a paradoxical presentation of people with HIV/AIDS, which offers simultaneous conflicting images of hope and fear, power and weakness, innocence and guilt. An interactive sociolinguistic model through which this contradictory discourse might be understood is presented, drawing on Goffman’s insights on stigma management and the presentation of the self in social interaction. Advertisements directed towards people with HIV/AIDS, it is suggested, present a contradictory discourse in which the advertisers are positioned as ‘the wise’, offering to mediate the conflicting identities of the stigmatized. The identity values enacted in this contradictory discourse are further measured against American conceptions of communication and the self as observed by Carbaugh and others. The possible consequences of these positionings on the roles made available to people with HIV/AIDS in the wider social context are discussed.

Social interactions provide a set of incentives for regulating individual behavior. Chief among these is stigma, the status loss and discrimination that results from the display of stigmatized attributes or behaviors. The stigmatization of behavior is the enforcement mechanism behind social norms. This paper models the incentive effects of stigmatization in the context of undertaking criminal acts. Stigma is a flow cost of uncertain duration which varies negatively with the number of stigmatized individuals. Criminal opportunities arrive randomly and an equilibrium model describes the conditions under which each individual chooses the behavior that, if detected, is stigmatized. The comparative static analysis of stigma costs differs from that of conventional penalties. One surprising result with important policy implications is that stigma costs of long duration will lead to increased crime rates.

In a controversial expansion of workplace civil rights, the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA) extended anti-discrimination protection to individuals with bmental impairments.Q One of the most critical barriers to the employment of individuals with mental disabilities is the degree of social stigma such disabilities incur, and there is compelling evidence that employers have stigmatizing attitudes and have discriminated against those with mental disabilities. This study examines the role played by stigma in employers' response to the 1990 Americans with Disability Act (ADA). A stratified sample of one hundred ninety employers were surveyed in 1996-1997 in a major Southern metropolitan area. Telephone interviews were completed with one hundred seventeen employers (response rate of 61.6%). The article describes employers' experiences with employees with mental disabilities and accommodations, specific employment practices, and attitudes towards those with mental disabilities. Stigma played an important role in conformity to the ADA (operationalized as either hiring or having specific recruiting policies for hiring individuals with mental disabilities). Furthermore, employers expressing coercive (fear of a lawsuit) as opposed to normative (belief that it is the right thing to do) rationales for compliance were more likely to hold stigmatized attitudes. Employers' beliefs about mental disability form a crucial foundation for truly supportive work environments (those that value difference and diversity), and further research is needed to determine if over time the ADA is successful in changing attitudes as well as behavior.

Background: Stigma has been shown to have a significant influence on help-seeking, adherence to treatment and social opportunities for those experiencing depression. There is a need for studies which examine how the stigma of depression intersects with responses to depression.

Methods: 161 telephone interviews with people experiencing depressive symptoms, derived from a longitudinal cohort study, were sampled on the basis of their perceptions of stigma around depression. Interview transcripts were searched for references to stigma and analysed thematically. The frequency of the themes was calculated and cross-referenced, producing a meta-theme matrix.

Results: Stigma was closely linked to ideas about responsibility for causation and/or
continuation of depressive symptoms. Stigmatised individuals felt compelled to take steps to develop their resilience including drawing on existing support networks and expanding on positive emotions and personal strengths in order to counteract this stigma. However, such strategies were burdensome for some. These participants gained relief from relinquishing their personal responsibility.

Limitations: The data were briefer than many interview studies. This narrowed its
interpretation, but allowed a large sample of participants.

Conclusions: When considering how to tailor therapies for those experiencing depressive symptoms, health professionals should consider the interaction of stigma with coping strategies. Many individuals can build on existing relationships and personal strengths to develop resilience, some however need to first relinquish the expectation of having sufficient pre-existing resilience within themselves.

Higher income societies have moved from institutional to community-based care for people experiencing mental illness. However, stigma and discrimination persists and undermines help-seeking, recovery and life chances. Mental illness prevalence is higher amongst communities that face multiple prejudices and disadvantages within society, including black and minority ethnic communities who may experience migration trauma, racism, acculturation and adverse social circumstances. This study examines beliefs, stigma and the effectiveness of existing national mental health campaigns with Pakistani, Indian and Chinese heritage communities in Scotland, UK, using community based participatory research. Community organisers were trained and supported to co-facilitate focus groups with 87 people using a range of languages. Whilst diversity within and between communities was apparent, important trends emerged. People with mental illness experience high levels of stigma from communities. Families experience significant associated stigma. This shame combines with culturally inappropriate services to reduce help seeking from mental health services, friends and families. Existing anti-stigma campaigns have failed to reach or engage with communities due to a combination of practical issues such as the use of inappropriate language, imagery and media, but also due to assuming western medical concepts of illness. Participants suggested a new model for national campaigns placing greater emphasis upon community development, cultural events, positive contact and dialogue with families, faith leaders and youth groups. National anti-stigma programmes must develop more effective partnerships with communities or risk magnifying existing inequalities.Despite a range of national programmes to address stigma towards people with mental illness, it remains as the major barrier to social inclusion for people with mental illness living in communities. Stigma is particularly severe if people have a mental illness and are also economically disadvantaged or face multiple stigmas. By adopting Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approaches with three black and ethnic minority communi- ties in Scotland, this study makes the case that stigma can only be understood and effectively addressed with reference to its socio-cultural context.

The increased need for counseling services is evident with the steady rise in mental health conditions in college-aged students. However, a number of factors inhibit students from seeking help. This study argues that mental-health climates need to be assessed on individual campuses in order to improve counseling services outreach tactics. Results of surveys and interviews at Florida Institute of Technology suggest the awareness of mental health services and the availability of counseling staff need improvement. The presence of mental-health stigma and high levels of self-reliance among students would complicate the awareness improvement effort, but several measures could be effective.

Toronto Youth Street Stories is an innovative, web-based storytelling project that was conducted with homeless youths in Toronto. As a collaborative knowledge dissemination initiative, the project engaged youthful participants, authors, community mentors, youth service agencies and university-based researchers. Over 50 youths were encouraged to express their personal perspectives through author-led, creative writing workshops, resulting in youth-created stories, poems and pictures about a wide array of feelings and experiences. Across the dozens of pieces of writing, there is evidence of a chronology of street life, or an ''arc of experience'', that ranges from living with abuse and despair, leaving home, living on the street, experiencing a crisis or turning point, accessing services and gradually moving away from street life toward self-sustaining independence and security. This arc of experience includes the stories of youth who have transitioned away from the street as well as those still facing homelessness. This paper describes this arc of experience and illustrates it with the subjective material generated by the youths' stories about their lives on the streets of Toronto. We conclude that this project provided an important, creative outlet for the youths, and increased understanding of the challenges, stigma and resilience of homeless youth.

Here I elaborate on the way that my research shows specifically now patient narratives can be a form of treatment when used in the right way. Using the example of depression, in this paper, I trace the growing recognition of the role patient narratives have in defining and shaping recovery from mental health problems. The rise of the user narrative presents specific challenges for professionals, and I will explore some key issues that users with depression are focusing on, including what they are asking of professionals. From the user perspective, some professionals are naturally good at detecting, eliciting, understanding and working with their stories, and I will discuss what engagement with narrative actually looks like for depression. A table summarises ways in which professionals can better engage with patient narratives. Finally, I will conclude with a short outline of how depression narratives have taken a specific social turn, incorporating discourses and strategies challenging the perceptions and attitudes of the public more widely as part of recovery.

This paper explores the definition of mental illness stigma, it’s various component and its prevalence among health care professionals and the general public. It also discuss the link between stigma and discrimination and outlines evidence based methods to develop anti stigma campaigns

Stigmas, or discredited personal attributes, emanate from social perceptions of physical characteristics, aspects of character, and “tribal” associations (e.g., race; Goffman 1963 ). Extant research has emphasized the perspective of the stigma target, with some scholars exploring how social institutions shape stigma. Yet the ways stakeholders within the sociocommercial sphere create, perpetuate, or resist stigma remain overlooked. The authors introduce and define marketplace stigma as the labeling, stereotyping, and devaluation by and of commercial stakeholders (consumers, companies and their employees, stockholders, and institutions) and their offerings (products, services, and experiences). The authors offer the Stigma Turbine as a unifying conceptual framework that locates marketplace stigma within the broader sociocultural context and illuminates its relationship to forces that exacerbate or blunt stigma. In unpacking the Stigma Turbine, the authors reveal the critical role that...

Stigmatization is a socially and culturally constructed process, occurring in social interactions, whereby a person is labeled as different and then devalued, resulting in status loss and discrimination. In this article, we present four key arguments as to why qualitative research is imperative to understanding and changing stigma: (a) Stigmatization is complex and qualitative research is well-suited for exploring complex phenomenon; (b) Qualitative research is participatory and offers substantial opportunities for meaningful community engagement, which promotes agency and empowerment, and redresses power imbalances; (c) Qualitative research is imperative to effective stigma reduction; and (d) Qualitative research informs further scientific inquiry and plays an important role in ensuring that we focus on important and relevant aspects of stigma in our research. For each argument, we outline relevant literature and discuss our own experiences with conducting qualitative research on stigmatization. We lean on both theory and practice, paying attention to not only the outcomes of, but also the processes involved, in conducting qualitative research on stigmatization. We then address two criticisms of qualitative research that undermine its legitimacy. We conclude that to better understand stigma, to redress power imbalances, and to inform interventions and further scientific inquiry, we must continue to conduct qualitative research across stigmatized identities and conditions.

With the lack of attention to the attrition of child participants, loss to follow up (LTFU) holds significant implications for the health of young adults in the Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS), a multi-center cohort study with children either perinatally infected with HIV (PHIV) or HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU). Young adults (18+) face barriers to being retained in the study, including competing time demands, geographic relocation, study fatigue, stigma, and low health literacy. Formative research, Photovoice (participatory photo elicitation), and a focus group informed the design of a web-based media strategy based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to increase study engagement. Six members of the Young Adult and Adult Community Advisory Boards (CABs) were recruited via email and given Photovoice training via Prezi. Photos were taken around the theme of self-identity. A teleconference focus group facilitated reflections and salient themes for the video compilation exhibit. Themes included: 1) stereotypes, 2) layered-identities, 3) stigma, and 4) self-identity. Additional meta-themes were also codified. Media strategy recommendations included: 1) participatory media and photography, 2) digital story maps, 3) social media, and 4) content and topics. Based on the results of this project with a limited sample, participatory media like Photovoice may have a positive impact on participants at risk for LTFU by increasing study engagement. While some research supports this qualitative methodology, limitations must be considered. Future PHACS projects should incorporate a needs assessment and evaluation. Moreover, further research in this area of public health and health communication needs to continue overall.

Human Immuno-deficiency Virus / Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is primarily related to human’s attitude and behavior, and has created severe public health problems all over the world. Therefore, the role of television messages in spreading awareness and knowledge leading to attitudinal and behavioral changes needs to be inquired. The objective of this research study is to investigate attitude and behavior of the people who are directly or
indirectly associated and affected by the disease and the impact of television messages thereof. Three target groups chosen for this study are - People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHAs) and their family members; community members where PLHAs reside and health staff dealing with
PLHAs. With these objectives, three Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) have been conducted.
This study finds that television is an effective medium for creating awareness, informing and educating people about HIV/AIDS and also for increasing acceptability of PLHAs and their family members in society. People are adopting preventive behavior after watching television
programs pertaining to prevalence and prevention of HIV/AIDS. The study also reveals that some myth & misconceptions, discriminating behavior regarding HIV/AIDS did exist in society even today. The study concludes that attitude and behavior of masses against PLHAs and their
family members has changed to some extent but the PLHAs are still facing stigma and discrimination in some form or other.