Browsing by Subject "Public opinion"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Health Related Philanthropy: The Donation of the Body (And Parts Thereof)
    (2006-09-05T14:59:22Z) Indiana University Center for Bioethics, Health Related Philanthropy Study Group
    The academic study of philanthropy has focused on private action for the public good, and on the area of various determinants of giving. Yet one very obvious act of giving in the health field has been largely neglected in philanthropic studies; the literal donation of self: blood, tissue, DNA, organs and bodies. There is a long tradition in bioethics research involving the ethical, legal and policy issues associated with donation, including factors involving the donation of bodies and their parts whether for transplantation, treatment, research, or education. This report describes the main outcomes of the Study Group, specifically the results of a national telephone survey conducted on our behalf by the IUPUI Public Opinion Lab; and the publications, scholarly presentations, and related outreach efforts in the media and elsewhere.
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    Implicit Stigma of Mental Illness: Attitudes in an Evidence-Based Practice
    (2012-08-07) Stull, Laura Grace; McGrew, John H., 1953-; Salyers, Michelle P.; Rand, Kevin L.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie; Williams, Jane R.
    Stigma is a barrier to recovery for people with mental illness. Problematically, stigma also has been documented among mental health practitioners. To date, however, most research has focused on explicit attitudes regarding mental illness. Little research has examined implicit attitudes, which has the potential to reveal evaluations residing outside of conscious control or awareness. Moreover, research has tended to use a mixed sample of practitioners and programs. The extent to which both explicit and implicit stigma is endorsed by mental health practitioners utilizing evidence-based practices is unknown. The purposes of the current study were to 1) carefully examine implicit and explicit stigmatizing attitudes, or biases, among Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) staff and 2) explore the extent to which explicit and implicit biases predicted the use of treatment control mechanisms. Participants were 154 ACT staff from nine states. They completed implicit (Implicit Association Test) and explicit measures of stigma. Overall, participants exhibited positive explicit and implicit attitudes towards people with mental illness. When modeled using latent factors, implicit, but not explicit bias significantly predicted the endorsement of restrictive or controlling clinical interventions. Practitioners who perceived individuals with mental illness as relatively more dangerous and helpless (both explicit and implicit), as well as participants from Indiana and those with less education were more likely to endorse use of control mechanisms. Thus, despite overall positive attitudes toward those with mental illness for the sample as a whole, even low levels of stigma at the individual level were found to affect clinical care. Mental health professionals, and specifically ACT clinicians, should work to be aware of ways in which their biases influence how they intervene with consumers.
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    Opioid Use Disorder Stigma, Discrimination, and Policy Attitudes in a National Sample of U.S. Young Adults
    (Elsevier, 2021) Adams, Zachary W.; Taylor, Bruce G.; Flanagan, Elizabeth; Kwon, Elizabeth; Johnson-Kwochka, Annalee V.; Elkington, Katherine S.; Becan, Jennifer E.; Aalsma, Matthew C.; Psychiatry, School of Medicine
    Purpose: A small fraction of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) receives appropriate care. Public opinion about addiction contributes to the availability and accessibility of effective treatment services. Little is known about such attitudes toward OUD among young adults, a population at heightened risk for OUD onset. The current study examined endorsement of social stigma, discrimination, and policy attitudes about OUD and hypothesized correlates of such attitudes (familiarity with OUD, criminal justice involvement, respondent demographic characteristics). Methods: A national sample of 190 young adults (weighted n = 408; 69% female, 42% White, non-Hispanic) aged 19-29 years completed web and telephone surveys covering opioid social stigma, discrimination, policy attitudes, personal experience with opioids, and criminal justice, and participant characteristics (age, sex, race, education, employment, income). Linear regressions were performed to examine associations between respondent characteristics and attitudes. Results: Young adults, on average, endorsed moderate levels of stigma and discrimination toward people with OUD and support for treatment-oriented policies. Stigma was positively associated with discrimination and negatively associated with support for policies favorable to people with OUD. Regression results revealed that more negative attitudes toward OUD were endorsed as a function of older age and less personal experience or familiarity with OUD. Conclusions: Heterogeneity in young adults' attitudes about OUD may be explained, in part, by personal characteristics and familiarity with OUD. Adolescence may be an opportune developmental period to prevent or reduce public stigma related to OUD and MOUD and increase public attitudes in support of expanded access to effective OUD treatments.
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    The Politics of Denying Communion to Catholic Elected Officials
    (De Gruyter, 2013-12) Blake, William D; Friesen, Amanda
    In his 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry, a Catholic, was threatened with being denied Holy Communion because of his pro-choice voting record. This article investigates the extent to which communion denial impacted Catholic elected officials and analyzes public attitudes regarding communion denial for Kerry. The results of our analysis suggest that, despite heavy media coverage, few bishops endorsed the communion denial and few pro-choice Catholic officials were threatened. While the data also indicate there are meaningful political implications for public attitudes on communion denial, the tactic does not command support from many Catholics.