People who use drugs hide their use for fear of being stigmatized. They are worried they will lose the respect of others as well as cost themselves economically. It is hard to seek treatment for a problem that you don’t want the world to see. Even when people do need to get medical treatment either for the disease or its sequelae, they may not be treated as other people seeking medical attention are due to the negative views many health care providers have about people who use drugs.
I am a member of our state’s Overdose Fatality Review Panel’s Stigma Committee. Our charge is to alleviate the stigma people who use drugs may face. Below is a 16- minute video geared toward EMS.
See also: The Harms of Stigma
Takeaways:
