Background and aims Public stigma diminishes the health of stigmatized populations, so it is critical to understand how and why stigma occurs to inform stigma reduction measures. This study aimed to examine stigmatizing attitudes held toward people experiencing problem gambling, to examine whether specific elements co-occur to create this public stigma, and to model explanatory variables of thi...

OBJECTIVE To examine sales practices, knowledge, and behavior of pharmacy workers regarding medical abortion in 2009 and 2011 in Zambia, where hostile and stigmatizing attitudes still result in high rates of unsafe abortion. METHODS Four mystery clients visited pharmacies during 2009 and 2011, and recorded their experiences following their interactions using a standardized form. Bivariate ana...

The reproductive desires of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) of low socioeconomic standing attending public health facilities in South Africa were studied. HIV-positive men, pregnant and non-pregnant women were recruited from two clinics at a large public hospital in Tshwane, South Africa. Individual interviews were used to explore the reproductive desires of HIV-positive participants. HIV c...

College populations are groups of emerging adults undergoing significant transitions in eating and diet, being exposed to new social influences; many experience weight gain. Theoretically, college campuses should be places where weight stigma is evident and matters for dietary decision-making. We present the findings from two studies conducted within the same college population at a large publi...

BACKGROUND Most mental illness is managed in general practice rather than specialist psychiatric settings. Management of mental illness in general practice is advocated as being less stigmatizing than psychiatric settings. Thus, other patients' discomfort with sharing the waiting room with the mentally ill may be problematic. OBJECTIVES To examine prevalence and associations of discomfort of ...

The use of anonymized stored tissue is a routine practice in genetic research. Investigators who utilize stored samples are neither required nor able to obtain informed consent before each use. Many genetic studies, however, are conducted on specific ethnic populations (e.g., Ashkenazi Jews). The results in these cases, although individually anonymous, are not anonymous with respect to the ethn...

The objective of this study was to examine adolescent age and experience with drug use on stigmatizing attitudes toward drug addiction. Data were derived from the 2005 cycle of the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey. In total, 4078, 7- to 12-graders completed self-administered questionnaires that included a measure of drug abuse stigma. Results indicated that stigma scores were higher among younge...

BACKGROUND The role and demands of studying nursing and medicine involve specific stressors that may contribute to an increased risk for mental health problems. Stigma is a barrier to help-seeking for mental health problems in nursing and medical students, making these students vulnerable to negative outcomes including higher failure rates and discontinuation of study. Mental Health First Aid (...

BACKGROUND The standardized patient approach has proved to be an effective training tool for medical educators. This article explains the process of employing standardized patients in an HIV stigma reduction intervention in healthcare settings in China. METHODS The study was conducted in 40 hospitals in two provinces of China. One year after the stigma reduction intervention, standardized pat...