Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “STIGMATIZATION”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,261 records · Page 70Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Cross sectional study of reporting of epileptic seizures to general practitioners.

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of reporting of recent epileptic seizures by patients to a doctor and anonymously. DESIGN: Cross sectional study of patients with epilepsy by comparison of paired questionnaires. SETTING: Rural and urban general practices in Norfolk. PARTICIPANTS: 122 patients aged over 16 years and able to self complete a questionnaire who were recruited by 31 general practitioners when attending for review of their epilepsy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The difference in reported occurrence of seizure to general practitioners and in a linked anonymous questionnaire. RESULTS: 18 patients failed to report a seizure in the past year to their general practitioner (uncontrolled epilepsy). 40% (24/60) of people with epilepsy who anonymously reported a seizure in the past year held a driving licence, but only six revealed this to their general practitioner. The unemployment rate was 34%, substantially higher than the 9% in the general population. Measures of anxiety, depression, and stigmatization were higher in patients with uncontrolled epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of patients with epilepsy under-report their seizures. Recognition of underreporting is important if patients are to benefit from adequate and appropriate treatment. General practitioners' ability to treat epilepsy is hampered by their role in regulating the rights of epileptic patients to hold a driving licence or access certain occupations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Ethics in the laboratory examination of patients.

Various value problems are connected with the clinical examination of patients. The purpose of this literature review is to clarify: 1) in which patient examinations ethical problems are generally found; 2) what kind of ethical problems are found in the different phases of the examination process, and 3) what kind of ethical problems are found in connection with the use of examination results. Genetic testing, autopsy, prenatal and HIV examinations were ethically the most problematic laboratory examinations. The most problematic phase in the laboratory examination process proved to be the pre-analytic phase. At present the results of laboratory examination are used more and more often for the prediction of diseases. The problems appear when the examination results are used for discrimination and stigmatization. Because of the lack of empirical ethical research, it is important to chart empirical knowledge about present value conflict situations involved in the laboratory examination process.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1999

A social science perspective on screening for Chlamydia trachomatis.

A recent report from the chief medical officer's expert advisory group on Chlamydia trachomatis has recommended the setting up of two pilot projects to assess the feasibility of introducing a national chlamydia screening programme. In addition to screening all symptomatic individuals and all attenders at genitourinary medicine clinics, the report recommends opportunistic screening of sexually active young women and women at high risk of infection, who are attending either general practice or family planning clinics. The success of any new screening programme depends on a wide variety of factors, not least the acceptability of such screening to its target population. In recent years, social scientists have made significant contributions to the understanding of the psychological factors which facilitate or inhibit uptake of screening services. The aim of this report is to discuss briefly the contribution social scientists could make to the chlamydia screening programme in the United Kingdom. In particular, the possible effects of screening for a stigmatized condition such as a sexually transmitted infection are explored.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
PubMed2002

Characteristics of gonorrhoea in Kermanshah, Iran.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of gonorrhoea and prostitution in Kermanshah, Iran. METHOD: From 1997 through 2000, 100 male gonorrhoea patients were followed for a mean of 18 months (range 8-42 months). Diagnosis and follow up were made by a combination of history, physical examination, and the Gram stained smear. RESULTS: 4% of patients became infected by girlfriends, 24% by temporary (sigheh) wives, and 64% by street prostitutes; the remaining 8% denied coitus with sex workers. Of 38 married cases, 31 reported unprotected intercourse with permanent wives while infected, and only four of 38 gave prescribed drugs to their wives. 89% of contacts with prostitutes were unprotected. Most of the prostitutes and professional sigheh wives were practising survival sex. Fear of stigmatization and presumed severe penalties prevented prostitutes from seeking medical care, and 26% of patrons reported self medication. An average 84% of prescriptions of standard therapies failed. 31% of the cases remained refractory to all available therapies. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the prostitutes and sigheh wives in Iran exchange sex for survival. Being uneducated survival sex workers, they accept risky sex behaviours easily. Sigheh wives are an important source of infection. The very high rate of persistent infection despite standard treatments is disturbing. Our ideal is a world in which nobody is obliged to enter commercial sex work. In the meantime, however, there is an urgent need to offer medical care and education to sex workers as needy patients in a safe and unprejudiced environment. Denying the presence of such realities as prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) because of their disagreement with cant claims and official propaganda, does not eradicate the facts but results in catastrophic public health problems.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Societal problems in human and medical genetics.

The applications of human and medical genetics raise many societal and ethical problems. This paper deals with a variety of such issues posed by current and future developments in genetic counseling, genetic screening, prenatal and predictive diagnosis, and gene therapy. The promise and problems of behavioral genetics are discussed. Problems of privacy, decision making, societal pressures, stigmatization, and informed consent to genetic study are raised. Use of genetic data by insurance companies or other public groups is discussed. The rapid unfolding of genetic information affecting human health and disease is producing difficult dilemmas. New problems are likely to surface, but human ingenuity and rationality is likely to find just and compassionate solutions in most settings.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Self-incompatibility in plants.

Sexual reproduction in many flowering plants involves self-incompatibility (SI), which is one of the most important systems to prevent inbreeding. In many species, the self-/nonself-recognition of SI is controlled by a single polymorphic locus, the S-locus. Molecular dissection of the S-locus revealed that SI represents not one system, but a collection of divergent mechanisms. Here, we discuss recent advances in the understanding of three distinct SI mechanisms, each controlled by two separate determinant genes at the S-locus. In the Brassicaceae, the determinant genes encode a pollen ligand and its stigmatic receptor kinase; their interaction induces incompatible signaling(s) within the stigma papilla cells. In the Solanaceae-type SI, the determinants are a ribonuclease and an F-box protein, suggesting the involvement of RNA and protein degradation in the system. In the Papaveraceae, the only identified female determinant induces a Ca2+-dependent signaling network that ultimately results in the death of incompatible pollen.

Brassicaceae↗
PubMed2000

Molecular recognition and response in pollen and pistil interactions.

Many bisexual flowering plants possess a reproductive strategy called self-incompatibility (SI) that enables the female tissue (the pistil) to reject self but accept non-self pollen for fertilization. Three different SI mechanisms are discussed, each controlled by two separate, highly polymorphic genes at the S-locus. For the Solanaceae and Papaveraceae types, the genes controlling female function in SI, the S-RNase gene and the S-gene, respectively, have been identified. For the Brassicaceae type, the gene controlling male function, SCR/SP11, and the gene controlling female function, SRK, have been identified. The S-RNase based mechanism involves degradation of RNA of self-pollen tubes; the S-protein based mechanism involves a signal transduction cascade in pollen, including a transient rise in [Ca(2+)]i and subsequent protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation; and the SRK (a receptor kinase) based mechanism involves interaction of a pollen ligand, SCR/SP11, with SRK, followed by a signal transduction cascade in the stigmatic surface cell.

Brassicaceae↗
PubMed1993

Molecular aspects of self-incompatibility in flowering plants.

It is seven years since the first reports of cDNAs encoding pistil glycoproteins that segregated with particular S-alleles. During this time, the S-glycoproteins of the Solanaceae have been identified as RNases. This enzymatic activity relies on the presence of histidine residues at the putative active site of the RNase, and these are conserved in all S-glycoproteins so far characterized. The proteins also contain "hypervariable" regions that may have some role in allelic specificity. It is particularly interesting that putative S-glycoproteins from Japanese pear, which is from a different family, the Rosaceae, are also RNases. To counter the temptation to extrapolate to other families with gametophytic self-incompatibility, there is evidence that in another family, the Papaveraceae, poppy S-glycoproteins are not RNases. The current evidence is consistent with a process in which the S-RNase moves into the incompatible pollen tube and degrades RNA, including rRNA. As rRNA genes are not transcribed in pollen, the resulting degradation would lead to the death of the cell. But still we are left with some important gaps in our knowledge. How does the S-RNase move across the wall and membrane and into the pollen tube? How is the specificity of the interaction controlled? What is the mechanism of signal transduction? A major bottleneck in unraveling the story is understanding the nature of the S-locus product in pollen. Is it related to the stylar S-locus product or is it the product of a different gene in the same locus? Each question underlines the sketchiness of our knowledge of many plant processes that are not specific to pollination, but that we need to understand if we are to work out the details of self-incompatibility. For example, we have a very incomplete understanding of cell wall synthesis generally and pollen wall synthesis in particular. How do macronutrients move through cell walls to the cytoplasm of cells generally and pollen tubes in particular? What is the nature of the receptor-ligand interaction in plant cells generally and pollen tubes in particular? A similar range of questions and gaps in our knowledge exist in the sporophytic system, exemplified by studies in Brassica spp. In this case, we have no known enzymatic or other function for the stigmatic S-glycoproteins. We do, however, know that the S-locus in Brassica includes at least two genes, one encoding a S-glycoprotein and the other encoding a protein kinase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Genotype↗
PubMed1998

Management of fire blight: a case study in microbial ecology.

Suppression of the blossom-blight phase of fire blight is a key point in the management of this destructive and increasingly important disease of apple and pear. For blossom infection to occur, the causal bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, needs to increase its population size through an epiphytic phase that occurs on stigmatic surfaces. Knowledge of the ecology of the pathogen on stigmas has been key to the development of predictive models for infection and optimal timing of antibiotic sprays. Other bacterial epiphytes also colonize stigmas where they can interact with and suppress epiphytic growth of the pathogen. A commercially available bacterial antagonist of E. amylovora (BlightBan, Pseudomonas fluorescens A506) can be included in antibiotic spray programs. Integration of bacterial antagonists with chemical methods suppresses populations of the pathogen and concomitantly, fills the ecological niche provided by the stigma with a nonpathogenic, competing microorganism. Further integration of biologically based methods with conventional management of blossom blight may be achievable by increasing the diversity of applied antagonists, by refining predictive models to incorporate antagonist use, and by gaining an improved understanding of the interactions that occur among indigenous and applied bacterial epiphytes, antibiotics, and the physical environment.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

The social psychology of stigma.

This chapter addresses the psychological effects of social stigma. Stigma directly affects the stigmatized via mechanisms of discrimination, expectancy confirmation, and automatic stereotype activation, and indirectly via threats to personal and social identity. We review and organize recent theory and empirical research within an identity threat model of stigma. This model posits that situational cues, collective representations of one's stigma status, and personal beliefs and motives shape appraisals of the significance of stigma-relevant situations for well-being. Identity threat results when stigma-relevant stressors are appraised as potentially harmful to one's social identity and as exceeding one's coping resources. Identity threat creates involuntary stress responses and motivates attempts at threat reduction through coping strategies. Stress responses and coping efforts affect important outcomes such as self-esteem, academic achievement, and health. Identity threat perspectives help to explain the tremendous variability across people, groups, and situations in responses to stigma.

Achievement↗
PubMed1998

Genetic testing: can it predict the lived experience of individuals and families? A personal testimony.

An individual's and family's experience with a genetic disease is too complex and diverse to be totally predicted using genetic testing. Stigmatization and discrimination of gene carriers can occur if society chooses to utilize genetic technology to eliminate 'disease and disability' without accepting human variation and devoting any possible efforts for ameliorating the life of individuals faced with disabilities. In this paper I use Friedreich's ataxia (FA) to illustrate some ways in which a disease experience can differ from what is expected from textbook descriptions of a given condition. I describe the expected medical characteristics with FA and some of my own personal experience with the disease as well as that of my family.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1993

Young adult chronic patients: empirical results on subgroups and age.

The discussion about young adult chronic patients (YACPs) started in the literature in the early eighties. However, the insufficient operationalization of the YACP concept provoked some criticism. The aim of the present study was to examine whether there were operational differences between YACPs and older chronic patients, as well as between hypothesized subgroups. The results show, as expected, that the differences between YACPs and older patients correlate with age. But only the 'high-energy, high-demand' subgroup differs not only from the other YACPs but also from the older chronic patients concerning psychopathology, social functioning and their interaction with the social environment. After 35 they grow out of their typical behavior which is strongly determined by traits of borderline and antisocial personality disorder. The stigmatizing YACP label should therefore be replaced by a more precise description such as 'young long-term patients with borderline or antisocial personality traits'.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Exploring the doctor-patient relationship reduces staff stress and enhances empathy when caring for AIDS patients.

At our AIDS outpatient clinic we presently care for more than 1,200 HIV-infected patients. All physicians in this unit have participated for 1 year in a case work group supervised by a liaison psychiatrist. The doctor-patient relationship, the assessment in the case work group and the ensuing influence on perception and behavior are demonstrated by 3 cases. Different issues challenge the doctor-patient relationship: the serious prognosis of predominantly young AIDS patients; isolation and stigmatization of patients; fear of contagion, and questions of confidentiality regarding contact tracing. Reflection upon the doctor-patient relationship improves communication skills and increases empathy towards AIDS patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

When tuberculosis treatment fails. A social behavioral account of patient adherence.

Several conclusions about measuring adherence can be drawn. Probably the best approach is to use multiple measures, including some combination of urine assays, pill counts, and detailed patient interviews. Careful monitoring of patient behavior early in the regimen will help predict whether adherence is likely to be a problem. Microelectronic devices in pill boxes or bottle caps have been used for measuring adherence among patients with tuberculosis, but their effectiveness has not been established. The use of these devices may be particularly troublesome for some groups such as the elderly, or precluded for those whose life styles might interfere with their use such as the homeless or migrant farm workers. Carefully designed patient interviews should be tested to determine whether they can be used to predict adherence. Probably the best predictor of adherence is the patient's previous history of adherence. However, adherence is not a personality trait, but a task-specific behavior. For example, someone who misses many doses of antituberculosis medication may successfully use prescribed eye drops or follow dietary recommendations. Providers need to monitor adherence to antituberculosis medications early in treatment in order to anticipate future problems and to ask patients about specific adherence tasks. Ongoing monitoring is essential for patients taking medicine for active tuberculosis. These patients typically feel well after a few weeks and either may believe that the drugs are no longer necessary or may forget to take medication because there are no longer physical cues of illness. Demographic factors, though easy to measure, do not predict adherence well. Tending to be surrogates for other causal factors, they are not amenable to interventions for behavior change. Placing emphasis on demographic characteristics may lead to discriminatory practices. Patients with social support networks have been more adherent in some studies, and patients who believe in the seriousness of their problems with tuberculosis are more likely to be adherent. Additional research on adherence predictors is needed, but it should reflect the complexity of the problem. This research requires a theory-based approach, which has been essentially missing from studies on adherence and tuberculosis. Research also needs to target predictors for specific groups of patients. There is clear evidence of the effect on adherence of culturally influenced beliefs and attitudes about tuberculosis and its treatment. Cultural factors are associated with misinformation about the medical aspects of the disease and the stigmatization of persons with tuberculosis. Culturally sensitive, targeted information is needed, and some has been developed by local tuberculosis programs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Humans↗
PubMed2004

Analysing one isolated single walled carbon nanotube in the near-field domain with selective nanovolume Raman spectroscopy.

In this paper, we describe a new method to the selective nanovolume analysing of one isolated single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT). This concept is based on actually available imaging micro-spectrometry systems for working in near-field domain combined with a stigmatic solid immersion lens. This combination of different analytical methods, and modified and configured equipment entitles us to expand the functionality toward a three-dimensional (3D) nanovolume Raman mapping and photoluminescence intensity with a possible discrimination in polarization, as well as photoluminescence decaytime constant mapping with their unique combination. Subsequently, selective spectra can be acquired from the same location on the samples. By spectrally selecting a SWNT, we registered the spatial distribution of the emitted photons in x, y, z vectors to determine the position of a SWNT in the near-field domain. For the SWNTs that are localized with an accuracy better than 18 nm in the x, y and <1 nm in the z directions, we demonstrate an analytical sensitivity close to a single nanotube with unity throughput. This near-field capability is applied to resolve local variations unambiguously in the Raman spectrum along one single SWNT. Finally, in this paper, we report what we believe to be the first evidence of Raman mapping and 3D real optical imaging of carbon nanotubes with near-field resolution.

Image Processing, Computer-Assisted↗
PubMed1978

Genetic counseling for psychiatric patients and their families.

The author presents an overview of genetic counseling for psychiatric patients and their families, including a brief summary of contemporary research into the evidence of genetic factors, the familial risks, and the possible modes of inheritance for major psychiatric disorders. The purpose is to review and condense the available literature pertaining to psychiatric genetic counseling for the benefit or psychiatrists and counselors in their day-to-day practice and for the general "consumer." It is hoped that giving the general public access to such information will help to reduce the suffering commonly brought about by the stigmatization of mental disorders.

Adoption↗
PubMed1984

Awareness of negative social conditions among mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed outpatients.

Many mentally retarded people experience negative social conditions for long periods in their lives. These include the stigmatizing effects of being labeled mentally retarded, rejection and ridicule, segregation, infantilization, social disruption, restricted opportunities, and victimization. Many mildly and some moderately retarded people are highly aware of these negative social realities and can articulate them in detail during psychotherapy interviews; the authors describe three such patients. There is a need for research on the possible effect of prolonged exposure to negative social conditions on the mental health of mentally retarded persons.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

An ethnomedical perspective of Anglo-American psychiatry.

Although psychiatry is part of Western biomedicine and its roots in neurobiology are widely appreciated, Anglo-American psychiatry addresses social behavior that is deviant and potentially stigmatizing and is said to uniquely engage in social control. Moreover, its concerns overlap and compete with those of other regulatory institutions of the state. For these reasons, the manner in which psychiatry operates is subject to challenge, criticism, and controversy. The author proposes that a look at psychiatry from the vantage point of ethnomedicine--the comparative study of medical systems--can enhance an appreciation of the current controversies in psychiatry and psychiatry's role as a medical institution.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗