Stigma as an Unrecognized Determinant of Population Health: Research and Policy Implications.
J Health Polit Policy Law
; 41(4): 653-73, 2016 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27127258
Stigma processes play an underrecognized role in the distribution of life chances, influencing health through the production of disadvantage and the induction of stress. Policies enact stigma processes, mitigate them, or ignore them. If each of these two statements is correct, the intersection of stigma and policy demands our attention. We propose a change of perspective from an approach that considers one stigmatized status and one outcome at a time to a perspective that considers the full range of stigmatized statuses and outcomes so as to reveal stigma's full impact. Concerning the second statement, literature addressing "structural stigma" provides compelling evidence that policy enacts stigma and harms health in some circumstances and mitigates stigma and improves health in others. In addition to the effects of active policies, we also bring attention to policy inattention-doing nothing. A core feature of stigma is a discounting-a mattering less-that allows and even fosters policy inattention toward the concerns of stigmatized groups. We end by engaging David Mechanic and Linda H. Aiken's ideas concerning how social science influences policy by changing how people think about problems and hope that our consideration of stigma and policy might ultimately have such a consequence.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Estigma Social
/
Política de Salud
Aspecto:
Equity_inequality
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Health Polit Policy Law
Año:
2016
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos