Effect of Exposure to Visual Campaigns and Narrative Vignettes on Addiction Stigma Among Health Care Professionals

Question  Are specific communication strategies effective in reducing stigma toward people with opioid use disorder (OUD) among health care professionals?

Findings  In this randomized clinical trial involving a national sample of 1842 health care professionals, exposure to visual campaigns combined with short narrative vignettes told from the perspective of a patient with OUD that emphasized the harm of stigmatizing language or the effectiveness of medications for treating OUD was associated with reduced levels of stigma.

Meaning  The findings of this randomized clinical trial suggest that carefully designed communication campaigns may reduce OUD-related stigma among health care professionals.

Kennedy-Hendricks A, McGinty EE, Summers A, Krenn S, Fingerhood MI, Barry CL. Effect of Exposure to Visual Campaigns and Narrative Vignettes on Addiction Stigma Among Health Care Professionals: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5(2):e2146971. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.46971

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