Abstract
This paper presents a narrative review of anti-stigma programming using examples from different countries to understand and describe current best practices in the field. Results highlight the importance of targeting the behavioural outcomes of the stigmatization process (discrimination and social inequity), which is consistent with rights-based or social justice models that emphasize social and economic equity for people with disabilities (such as equitable access to services, education, work, etc.). They also call into question large public education approaches in favour of more targeted contact-based interventions. Finally, to add to the research base on best practices, anti-stigma programs are encouraged to create alliances with university researchers in order to critically evaluate their activities and build better, evidence informed practices.
Highlights
The public health importance of mental disorders has been highlighted by the Global Burden of Disease study, which catapulted mental health promotion and prevention onto the global public health stage
In 1990, five of the top ten leading causes of disability worldwide were from mental illnesses, accounting for almost a quarter of the total years lived with a disability (Murray & Lopez, 1996)
The most recent World Health Organization Mental Health Atlas clearly demonstrates the inadequacies of mental health treatment infrastructure worldwide
Summary
The public health importance of mental disorders has been highlighted by the Global Burden of Disease study, which catapulted mental health promotion and prevention onto the global public health stage. These findings suggest that using biological or professional explanations of mental illnesses, as a way of improving knowledge in low- and middle-income countries, where literacy is generally poor, may be ill advised as an anti-stigma strategy.
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