Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
International Journal of Social Psychiatry
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (6)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pinfold, V.
Right arrow Articles by Toulmin, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pinfold, V.
Right arrow Articles by Toulmin, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Challenging Stigma and Discrimination in Communities: A Focus Group Study Identifying UK Mental Health Service Users’ Main Campaign Priorities

Vanessa Pinfold

Health Services Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK, vanessa.pinfold{at}rethink.org

Peter Byrne

University College London, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Holborn Union Building, Archway Campus, Highgate Hill, London N19 5NF, UK, p.byrne{at}ucl.ac.uk

Hilary Toulmin

Health Services Research Department, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

Background: Stigma and discrimination experienced by people with mental health problems have been identified as major obstacles to treatment and recovery. Less is known about how to effectively tackle stigma-discrimination, although there are numerous international, national and local programmes attempting to improve public mental health literacy and anti-discrimination evidenced based practice.

Aims: To explore mental health service users’ views on how campaigns to address stigma and discrimination should prioritise their actions.

Method: Qualitative study using focus group discussions, involving 33 persons aged between 25 and 75.

Results: A triad of diminished credibility, dis-empowerment with particular reference to communication problems and avoidance by their social network defined experiences of stigma. Reactions to stigma can be placed in four categories: avoid stigma, resign yourself to it, challenge it, or distance yourself from others with a mental health problem. A range of solutions was discussed with most favouring changes within the health services that are currently supporting them over traditional educational programmes with the public.

Conclusions: For mental health service users stigma must be tackled on many different levels reflecting the varied and complex impact that negative social reactions have on an individual’s life. When asked to prioritise one area, most service users in our sample highlighted reforms within the health service for tackling stigma and discrimination.

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 51, No. 2, 128-138 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0020764005056760
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Int J Soc PsychiatryHome page
A. Tal, D. Roe, and P. W. Corrigan
Mental Illness Stigma in the Israeli Context: Deliberations and Suggestions
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, November 1, 2007; 53(6): 547 - 563.
[Abstract] [PDF]