Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

This approved symposium brings a panel of researchers from Canada, the U.S. and Europe together to discuss the impact of stigma on health service utilization, particularly dentistry, while focusing on four major stigmatized groups: those who are HIV positive, those with mental health & addiction, those who are frail elderly, and the working poor. Studies have also found that oral diseases are highly prevalent among these groups despite the availability of dental coverage for many of them; yet most patients see a dentist only for emergency purposes while oral diseases further progress. Stigma remains a major barrier for regular dental care utilization. However, research on stigma as experienced by patients in dental settings falls short, but indicates that most of these patients feel they are not well understood by dental professionals at best, and denied care at worse. Brondani will present his latest study focused on minimizing stigma and engaging HIV-positive individuals in utilizing educational and support services via community-based participatory study. Although new HIV diagnoses in Canada have fluctuated, stigma against those carrying the virus is still prevalent, has many forms and manifests in different manners. By using a qualitative approach, Brondani trained six peers from the community to facilitate 6 focus groups among 45 Aboriginal People and refuges from Latin America who were HIV positive. Thematic analysis revealed that some individuals living with HIV may remain marginalized, not accessing proper health care and not fully engaged in educational support and collective action. They also likely feel disempowered, with lack social support while holding self-stigma further enhanced by detrimental behaviours expressed by dental professionals. The roots of stigma as subjectively experienced by HIV-positive members from these two marginalized communities will be also shared while informing on the development of strategies to address and minimise stigma