Mental health conditions are a global problem and estimated to affect approximately 1 in 4 people worldwide. They know no boundaries and have no respect for socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, disability, or religion. For many in society, including health care professionals, mental illness is an enigma often driven by lack of visible ‘evidence’.
Stigma as a concept captures ignorance, stereotyped beliefs and discriminatory behaviors amongst others. Stigma and discrimination can take many forms, both direct and indirect, operating at multiple levels – individual, interpersonal, community, and structural Research evidence has facilitated an increasingly nuanced understanding of the prevalence and manifestations of stigma.
The evidence base for stigma reduction is also growing, including in previously under-researched contexts such as in low- and middle-income settings. Strategies for stigma reduction are also becoming more refined, including comprehensive approaches to cultural and contextual adaptation, multilevel strategies, and nuanced considerations of various target groups. However, there is still much scope for further insights into the concepts of stigma and discrimination concerning their use, meaning, mechanisms, consequences, and efforts to mitigate the negative impacts. Further elaboration on the role of cultural influences on these processes is warranted given how stigma and discrimination are universal phenomena, but experiences are local, manifesting in culturally and contextually specific ways.
This Research Topic aims to present a collection of cutting-edge research considering the role of cultural influences, impacts and idiosyncrasies of mental health stigma.
The collection will include studies examining cultural considerations of stigma and discrimination at a conceptual level in terms of lived experience and community perspectives, efforts to mitigate impacts or eradicate stigma and discrimination, and facilitators and barriers to such strategies. This Topic explores these questions from various perspectives, with insights from experts by experience particularly welcomed.
Mental health conditions are a global problem and estimated to affect approximately 1 in 4 people worldwide. They know no boundaries and have no respect for socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender, disability, or religion. For many in society, including health care professionals, mental illness is an enigma often driven by lack of visible ‘evidence’.
Stigma as a concept captures ignorance, stereotyped beliefs and discriminatory behaviors amongst others. Stigma and discrimination can take many forms, both direct and indirect, operating at multiple levels – individual, interpersonal, community, and structural Research evidence has facilitated an increasingly nuanced understanding of the prevalence and manifestations of stigma.
The evidence base for stigma reduction is also growing, including in previously under-researched contexts such as in low- and middle-income settings. Strategies for stigma reduction are also becoming more refined, including comprehensive approaches to cultural and contextual adaptation, multilevel strategies, and nuanced considerations of various target groups. However, there is still much scope for further insights into the concepts of stigma and discrimination concerning their use, meaning, mechanisms, consequences, and efforts to mitigate the negative impacts. Further elaboration on the role of cultural influences on these processes is warranted given how stigma and discrimination are universal phenomena, but experiences are local, manifesting in culturally and contextually specific ways.
This Research Topic aims to present a collection of cutting-edge research considering the role of cultural influences, impacts and idiosyncrasies of mental health stigma.
The collection will include studies examining cultural considerations of stigma and discrimination at a conceptual level in terms of lived experience and community perspectives, efforts to mitigate impacts or eradicate stigma and discrimination, and facilitators and barriers to such strategies. This Topic explores these questions from various perspectives, with insights from experts by experience particularly welcomed.
