Activisme contra l’estigma: Exploració d’activitats de sensibilització al context sanitari

Francisco José Eiroa-Orosa; Maria Rovira Gimó

doi:10.5565/rev/qpsicologia.1963

Activism against stigma: Exploring awareness-raising activities in the healthcare context

Authors

Francisco José Eiroa-Orosa Universitat de Barcelona https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4163-6545
Maria Rovira Gimó University of Barcelona https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1041-8501

Abstract

Stigma suffered by people labelled with mental health diagnoses is something frequent within the healthcare context. Anti-stigma organizations and campaigns have focused their efforts on reducing discrimination in this area. The activist figure is fundamental for people who have experienced this stigma to be the protagonists of this change. Our aim in this study has been to deepen the experience that anti-stigma activists in mental health have when participating in actions to raise awareness in the healthcare context. We carried out a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with five activists. We identified two thematic blocks: Stigma and Activism. The Stigma block consists of the themes Prejudice, Discriminatory Behaviours, and Self-Stigma, while the Activism block is composed of the themes Positive Effects, Strategies, and Impact. The present study has allowed us to have deeper knowledge of the subjective experiences of stigma in the healthcare field through the experience of participants in campaigns to combat it, and to understand why activism can be a beneficial strategy to raise awareness among professionals and for the well-being and empowerment of the activists themselves.

Keywords

Activism, Thematic analysis, Social stigma, Mental health

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Author Biographies

Francisco José Eiroa-Orosa, Universitat de Barcelona

Ramon y Cajal researcher accredited as full professor at the University of Barcelona. Member of the Monitoring Committee of the Advisory Council on Mental Health and Addictions of the Catalan Government. President of the First-Person Research Group of the VEUS Federation. Activist in Obertament, and in the Catalan Association of Mental Health Professionals.

Maria Rovira Gimó, University of Barcelona

Social psychologist and psychotherapist in training, with experience in various organisations dedicated to social integration.