"You're not taught to think about the words you use and then it just perpetuates"- a qualitative examination of medical students' perspectives of stigmatising language in healthcare.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Stigmatising language is used commonly in healthcare, affecting healthcare providers' perceptions of patients and care delivery. Using person-first language is best practice, however, it does not reflect reality.

Method

This study examined medical students' perspectives on stigmatising language in healthcare. Twenty-one medical students at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences participated in four focus group interviews; a thematic analysis of the data was conducted.

Results

Seven themes were identified: prevalence of stigmatising language, its impact on students and patients, being sensitive versus medically accurate, evolving nature of recommendations for language use, barriers to changing practice, power dynamics and cultural context influe

SUBMITTER: Daswani S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11762484 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature