A systematic review on the stigmatizing attitudes of healthcare professionals towards people with addictions to substances

Background. Healthcare professionals’ (HPs) stigma toward people with addictions (PWAs) acts as a barrier to wellness and quality of care for this population (Luoma et al., 2014). The current review will analyse studies assessing HPs’ stigmatised attitudes towards PWAs to drugs and/or alcohol. It will also explore factors that cause or influence HPs’ attitudes towards PWAs.
Method. Three databases: PsychInfo, Medline, and ProQuest Health and Medical Collection were systematically searched for articles on HPs’ stigma toward PWAs. Three studies were identified that assessed HPs’ attitudes toward this population and identified factors that contributed to this stigma.
Results. HPs’ stigma towards PWAs was well-established as a problem in the studies assessed in this review (Guerrero et al., 2020; Horner et al., 2019; Kennedy-Hendricks et al., 2016). Identified reasons for this included burnout, having their safety threatened by PWAs, the organisational culture, and lack of education and training in addiction and pain management (Guerrero et al., 2020; Horner et al., 2019; Kennedy-Hendricks et al., 2016). An increase in education and training, particularly focused on humanising PWAs, was suggested as a way to change stigma toward this population and improve their quality of care (Guerrero et al., 2020; Horner et al., 2019).
Conclusion. Stigma towards PWAs is a prevalent issue in healthcare and presents a barrier in treatment of that population (Guerrero et al., 2020; Horner et al., 2019; Kennedy-Hendricks et al., 2016). Changes in the culture of healthcare organisations and the education and training of HPs may help to change this phenomenon (Guerrero et al., 2020; Horner et al., 2019; Kennedy-Hendricks et al., 2016).