Given the implications of stigma for HIV/AIDS prevention and control of the epidemic, as emphasized by UNAIDS, this study analyzes the Brazilian academic production on health, AIDS, stigma, and discrimination, available in the SciELO database from 2005 to 2010. Brazilian research on the theme is modest as compared to the international literature, but the studies follow the same trend of focusin...

HIV/AIDS is an important public health problem in the United States. Although HIV rates decreased since the early years of the epidemic, the spread of HIV continues to increase among ethnic minority groups. People living with HIV and AIDS face many challenges resulting from how others understand the disease. Lack of knowledge, fear, and many other factors create a social stigma, which can be ha...

Despite the availability of effective interventions, most individuals with social anxiety disorder do not seek treatment. Given their fear of negative evaluation, socially anxious individuals might be especially susceptible to stigma concerns, a recognized barrier for mental health treatment. However, very little is known about the stigma specific to social anxiety disorder. In a design similar...

BACKGROUND There are few national or cross-cultural studies of the stigma associated with mental disorders. Australia and Japan have different systems of psychiatric health care, and distinct differences in cultural values, but enjoy similar standards of living. This study seeks to compare the nature and extent of stigma among the public in the two countries. METHODS A household survey of the...

Purpose: This qualitative study contributes to the stigma and bipolar disorder literature focused on understanding structural, social, and self-stigma experiences from the perspectives of individuals living with bipolar disorder and their family members. Methods: Community-based participatory research principles guided our engagement of individuals with bipolar disorder and community partners i...

BACKGROUND Leprosy-related disability is a challenge to public health, and social and rehabilitation services in endemic countries. Disability is more than a mere physical dysfunction, and includes activity limitations, stigma, discrimination, and social participation restrictions. We assessed the extent of disability and its determinants among persons with leprosy-related disabilities after re...

Mental health professionals views about mental illness is an important issue which has not received enough attention. The negative stigma associated with mental illness can have many negative consequences. Unfortunately, health professionals working with the mentally ill can also exhibit stigma. It has been suggested that causal explanations or beliefs around the causes of mental illness may in...

A diagnosis of dementia profoundly impacts a person in terms of both the functional progression of the disease and the social stigma associated with the diagnosis. A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of innovative programs such as the Alzheimer's Poetry Project, Meet Me at MoMA, and TimeSlips™ in counterbalancing social stigma by building a social and emotional framework f...

Stigma and status are the major concepts in two important sociological traditions that describe related processes but that have developed in isolation. Although both approaches have great promise for understanding and improving population health, this promise has not been realized. In this paper, we consider the applicability of status characteristics theory (SCT) to the problem of stigma with ...

In this study, we have surveyed how professionals from multidisciplinary teams at psychosocial care centers (CAPS), in the city of São Paulo, understand the concept of mental illness stigma. The aim of the survey was to characterize the actions developed by the team to overcome stigma and, thus, contribute to develop strategies that incorporate overcoming stigma in the territory. Our objective ...