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There is a video being shared in social media that highlights the dehumanized and deplorable way that individuals with #mentalillness are often treated in Canadian hospitals. As someone who has researched #stigma and #bias extensively, it is horrible to watch but not unsurprising
Those who seek care report consistent experiences of blame, shame, and discrimination. Those who work in the system also report frustration and helplessness. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40037-017-0333-5
Interventions to address stigma require a rethink. As we head into #letstalk day, a reminder that truly addressing stigma requires dismantling structures that perpetuate discrimination and bias against those who's suffer.
We can't tell people to ask for help when many who suffer have deep rooted mistrust of our hospitals and system because of trauma they experience when they walk through our doors. We who work in the system have an obligation to change the system.
In our own work we have looked at implicit, explicit, and structural stigma in the system and are working on co-designing solutions with people who have experienced challenges within the system. Their voices must lead change. http://sharedhumanity.ca
Those of us who work in the system must be willing to listen without denial and defensiveness. We must be willing to to hold up the mirror and confront what we see. We must be willing to step outside our comfort zones to challenge biased norms.
We must be willing to be relentless and speak up no matter what the cost. Silence is deadly. The status quo is unacceptable. Those who suffer from #mentalillness deserve so much better.
For more information about our work, here is a video describing a recent study:
Making the invisible visible: Exploring explicit, implicit, and structural stigma for people who inject drugs within a hospital environment https://crhesi.uwo.ca/research/making-the-invisible-visible-exploring-explicit-implicit-and-structural-stigma-for-people-who-inject-drugs-within-a-hospital-environment/ via @CRHESI
Making the invisible visible: Exploring explicit, implicit, and structural stigma for people who inject drugs within a hospital environment https://crhesi.uwo.ca/research/making-the-invisible-visible-exploring-explicit-implicit-and-structural-stigma-for-people-who-inject-drugs-within-a-hospital-environment/ via @CRHESI
This article also highlights some of the implicit, explicit, and structural biases that are evident and how critical awareness and advocacy can help co-create change. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10459-018-9816-3
This page also has some material that captures our work and approach to dismantling structural stigma through training, digital learning, and promoting system change: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/communications/publications/AchievementsReport2019/care.html
