Stigma of Addiction Summit

• Describe the concept of stigma and its role in addiction treatment and policy development
• Understand the criticality of including the voices of people with lived experience in developing interventions and policy reforms
• Including individuals with lived experience in the delivery of healthcare education
• Demonstrate meaningful ways that individuals with lived experience have been included in setting the narrative around addiction treatment and policy development

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

SESSION 1.1 - Harm Reduction and Intersectional Stigma

Kassandra Frederique, Drug Policy Alliance
Tamika Jackson, National Harm Reduction Coalition
Claire Zagorski, University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy

Learning Objectives: 

• Define the principles of harm reduction
• Demonstrate how harm reduction fits into the medical and chronic disease healthcare models
• Describe how harm reduction is stigmatized by the general public as well as healthcare and policy professionals
• Illustrate that the concept of harm reduction places individuals at the center of stigma reduction

SESSION 1.2 - Stigma in the Healthcare System

Deborah Finnell, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Richard Bottner, Colorado Hospital Association
Cheyenne Johnson, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use

Learning Objectives:

• Explain how stigma of addiction and people who use drugs manifests in the primary and acute care settings

• Describe how medical education perpetuates the stigma of addiction and people who use drugs
• Summarize how healthcare professionals who treat/encounter people who use drugs experience stigma from other healthcare professionals and the healthcare system
• Outline how various healthcare professionals interact with individuals who use drugs and can perpetuate or eliminate stigmatizing behaviors and how multilevel coordination is necessary

SESSION 1.3 - Addressing Stigma Through Advocacy

Joshua Sharfstein, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Tracie Gardner, Legal Action Center
Nicky Lewis, University of Kentucky

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how drug policy is inherently racist and what actions are needed to address this
• Compare the way that 12-step and abstinence-only programs have influenced policy development and carceral involvement
• Understand what types of media and awareness campaigns work to bring awareness to and reduce addiction stigma
• Analyze the way that addiction is depicted in the media and the way that those depictions can serve to reinforce stigmatizing beliefs 

• Illustrate how the spectrum of addiction treatment and recovery is stigmatized by healthcare and policy professionals and the general public
• Summarize how healthcare professionals who treat/encounter people who use drugs experience stigma
• Outline how various patient populations can be better engaged in research around appropriate treatment methods and models
• Identify best practices for research engagement in this vulnerable population to improve treatment and recovery pathways

• Provide examples of how systemic racism and stigma manifest and are related to each other
• Understand how the concept of stigma has been framed within the context of the inherently racist war on drugs
• Discuss the importance of meaningfully including individuals who experience the stigma of addiction and using drugs in work focused on anti-stigma and anti-racism

• Summarize how the carceral system increases and exacerbates inequities within marginalized populations
• Understand how the carceral system serves to perpetuate the stigma and cycles of addiction 
• Discuss how reentry and reintegration are and are not effectively executed for formerly incarcerated individuals
• Appraise the availability, or lack thereof, of addiction treatment and recovery support services during incarceration and its correlation to risk of fatal overdose after release 

• Describe and demonstrate stigma research or reduction efforts that are being or have been deployed in the practice setting or in the general public
• Present and discuss the efficacy and results of implemented stigma research and reduction efforts
• Discuss the implications of implemented stigma research and reduction eff orts including wider applicability to the practice setting, knowledge development, and remaining gaps in research and practical application

• Describe the importance of mindful and intentional language and issue framing when addressing drugs and drug use with youth
• Understand the importance of engaging young people in the narrative around drugs in order to change sentiment and drive real change
• Highlight the correlation of histories of trauma and generational substance use
• Discuss the importance of tying in comprehensive resource provision with consideration of specific vulnerabilities and adverse childhood events