17th Annual Public Health Leadership Forum: Stigma and Illness

17th Annual Public Health Leadership Forum: Stigma and Illness is organized by Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS).

Activity Term:
Original Release Date: November 12, 2020
Termination Date: November 12, 2023

Course Overview:
The bias and discrimination that accompany certain illnesses can prevent individuals from seeking care, engender fear, and cause prejudice against entire groups or communities. The response to outbreaks, infectious diseases, and stereotyped health conditions requires protecting health whilst mitigating the stigma that can further exacerbate social and health disparities. The 17th Annual Public Health Leadership Forum (previously recorded on October 29, 2020) convened leaders in public health, medicine, policy, government, and the community to examine ways to destigmatize disease and put forth interventions that reinforce prevention and the provision of safe, equitable, and quality health care.

Course Objectives:
• Describe how social stigma of disease undermines early detection, treatment, and successful health outcomes
• Examine how stigmatizing disease exacerbates social and health disparities
• Develop appropriate skills to evaluate epidemiological data without engendering fear of certain populations including ethnic, racial, or socioeconomic groups
• Assess the role of physicians as leaders in reducing disease and illness related discrimination