| Title: |
The intersection of gender and drug use-related stigma: A mixed methods systematic review and synthesis of the literature |
| Authors: |
Meyers, SA; Earnshaw, VA; D’Ambrosio, B; Courchesne, N; Werb, D; Smith, LR |
| Source: |
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol 223 |
| Publisher Information: |
eScholarship, University of California |
| Publication Year: |
2021 |
| Collection: |
University of California: eScholarship |
| Subject Terms: |
4203 Health Services and Systems (for-2020); 42 Health Sciences (for-2020); Women's Health (rcdc); Drug Abuse (NIDA only) (rcdc); Social Determinants of Health (rcdc); Substance Misuse (rcdc); Prevention (rcdc); Health Disparities (rcdc); Behavioral and Social Science (rcdc); 3 Good Health and Well Being (sdg); Female (mesh); Gender Identity (mesh); Humans (mesh); Male (mesh); Pharmaceutical Preparations (mesh); Social Stigma (mesh); Substance-Related Disorders (mesh); Gender; Drug use; Stigma; Intersectionality; Systematic review; Mixed methods; 11 Medical and Health Sciences (for); 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences (for); Substance Abuse (science-metrix); 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology (for-2020); 3214 Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences (for-2020); 4202 Epidemiology (for-2020) |
| Description: |
BACKGROUND: Substance use-related stigma is a significant barrier to care among persons who use drugs (PWUD). Less is known regarding how intersectional identities, like gender, shape experiences of substance use-related stigma. We sought to answer the following question: Do men or women PWUD experience more drug use stigma? METHODS: Data were drawn from a systematic review of the global, peer-reviewed scientific literature on substance use-related stigma conducted through 2017 and guided by the Stigma and Substance Use Process Model and PRISMA guidelines. Articles were included in the present analysis if they either qualitatively illustrated themes related to the gendered nature of drug use-related stigma, or quantitatively tested the moderating effect of gender on drug use-related stigma. RESULTS: Of the 75 studies included, 40 (53 %) were quantitative and 35 (47 %) were qualitative. Of the quantitative articles, 22 (55 %) found no association between gender and drug use-related stigma, 4 (10 %) identified women who use drugs (WWUD) were more stigmatized, and 2 (5 %) determined men who use drugs (MWUD) were more stigmatized. In contrast, nearly all (34; 97 %) of the qualitative articles demonstrated WWUD experienced greater levels of drug use-related stigma. CONCLUSION: The quantitative literature is equivocal regarding the influence of gender on drug use-related stigma, but the qualitative literature more clearly demonstrates WWUD experience greater levels of stigma. The use of validated drug use-related stigma measures and the tailoring of stigma scales to WWUD are needed to understand the role of stigma in heightening the disproportionate harms experienced by WWUD. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
unknown |
| Relation: |
qt8zg8x0zq; https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zg8x0zq; https://escholarship.org/content/qt8zg8x0zq/qt8zg8x0zq.pdf |
| DOI: |
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108706 |
| Availability: |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8zg8x0zq; https://escholarship.org/content/qt8zg8x0zq/qt8zg8x0zq.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108706 |
| Rights: |
public |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.C054D0DE |
| Database: |
BASE |