SOCIAL STIGMA EFFECT IN PRIMARY CARE AND SUGGESTIONS FROM LITERATURE ABOUT “HOW TO DEAL WITH IT”

Introduction and objective: The art of medicine as the patient doctor relationship has a special importance in family medicine and should take part in the medical curricula from very early years of education by a social approach. Social stigma is defined as social disapproval of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors or characteristics which are against cultural norms. Besides education related to ethics, professionalism and humanism there is still concerns about social stigma effects on physicians especially in special situations as mental illnesses, sexual issues or ethnicity. In the changing face of primary care by migration, terrorism and violence there is need for a curricular change in undergraduate education and residency programs. The aim of this review is to identify the issues related to social stigma in primary care and gather some clues about how to deal with stigmata depending on the experiences in literature. Methods: The study data mainly depends on a literature review from the PubMed and Google academic with search terms “stigma, stigmata, social stigma, and discrimination” for free full text articles in English or Turkish. Results: There is a reality that physicians generally prejudice patients, especially, when they are drug users, having mental illness or have HIV/AIDS. Other reality is the lack of education of physicians with these special groups although there is some evidence about the positive effect of education against stigma. Conclusions: Dealing with stigma needs self awareness, education and reflection. Narratives, case studies, small group discussions and scenarios may enhance physician’s skills against stigmata.