Don't Put Me in "Quotes": Examining Communication Episodes of Health-Related Stigma
This study examined communication episodes of health-related stigma, which includes instances where individuals were made to feel bullied, excluded, rejected, blamed, or embarrassed due to a health condition they or someone they know possesses. This study used the coordinated management of meaning (CMM) to approach this study; in particular the DICA model advanced by Pearce (2007), which moves through a process of description, interpretation, critique, and action was used in study design. Six research questions were developed that roughly correspond to the DICA model. This study used a grounded approach to data collection and analysis: data were collected in two stages that built upon each other. The first stage was a recruitment stage; used to inform individuals about the study and invite them to participate in the second stage: in-depth interviews. Two hundred thirty individuals took part in the recruitment phase of research, 24 individuals took part in in-depth interviews. Methods of grounded theory were used to analyze interview data, this included a circular three-step process of analysis: open coding, integration, and dimensionalization. Twenty-one themes and 25 related subthemes emerged to reveal the patterned nature of health-related stigma. Findings are presented in five context areas--description, meaning, interpretation, action, and stigma. These context areas correspond to the DICA model and the six research questions. The major findings of this study were the patterned nature of health-related stigma, and further that these patterns can be interrupted and reconstructed in a way that reframes negative experiences and promotes a more positive perspective for approaching issues of health-related stigma.
Stimga, Health-related stigma, Health, Quality of life, Positive communication, Coordinated management of meaning, Communication, Journalism Studies
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