Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Compared to other Latin American countries, Brazil ranks highest in anxiety, mood and substance use disorders among adults. Stigma related to mental illness and substance use problems (MISUP) is a human rights issue and may cause problems finding employment and housing, which can ultimately lead to social isolation. Like the general public, health care providers may also stigmatize and discriminate which can reduce the quality of care provided. Evidence shows that individuals seeking help for MISUP feel disrespected and discriminated against by healthcare workers, making stigma and discrimination a critical barrier to seeking help, receiving quality health care and continued use of services. The majority of stigma research has taken place in the global north. Little is known about stigma from the perspectives of people with lived experience and health care providers in Brazil. Even less is known about best practices for addressing stigma and discrimination in Brazilian health care settings, making it a high priority research area. This grant will be used to fund three components aimed at planning and dissemination activities. The overall goal is to lay the foundation for developing a research proposal to strengthen stigma research in Brazil. 1. Stakeholder Consultations - Interviews with stakeholders will be used to provide insights on stigma towards individuals with MISUP in Brazil. Suggestions for developing an intervention targeting health care providers will also be collected. 2. Environmental Scans of Primary Health Care Centres - Scans of selected health care centres will provide information regarding existing policies, practices and programming. 3. Symposium for Knowledge Users - Previous research findings, information from stakeholder consultations and insights from the environmental scans will be disseminated to key stakeholders. The main objective of the Symposium is to develop a joint grant proposal with Canadian and Brazilian partners.