I am currently a junior here at Penn State as well as an RPTM major. In several of my major-specific classes we are learning all about inclusive services. Some of the chapters I have read cover discrimination, segregation, exclusion, and stereotypes. I have been introduced to a new way of thinking and blessed with a different perspective of how I view all individuals. Recently in my RPTM 277 class, we have been talking about stereotypes. I have learned so much about them and how stereotypes can truly alter a persons lifestyle and their individual choices. For those of you who don’t know what a stereotype is, I will briefly define it. A stereotype can be defined as a preconceived thought or image of believing unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same. Stereotypes can be a bad thing, but can they be harmful to a person’s actual health?

One specific stereotype in regards to health has been recently been up for speculation. A new study had been found that when a particular group is said to have unhealthy lifestyle choices, health messages might backfire and push that specific group away from receiving good healthcare. “University of Southern California (USC) researchers found people who encountered the threat of being judged by negative stereotypes related to weight, age, race, gender, or social class in health care settings often report adverse effects.” The participants the researchers used where found more likely to have hypertension and experience depression. Those people were also found more likely to not trust their doctors and express dissatisfaction with their care. Another finding the research presented was one that I personally found interesting. The other day in class Andrew asked how many people would go to receive their seasonal flu shot. It seemed as though almost more than half the class did not raise their hand. The study found that the individuals were also less likely to not go and receive a flu shot. I wonder if the reason many of my classmates did not raise their hand when the question was asked could correlate to the fact that they might have a negative stereotype in regards to their health.

Side note: (Maybe in one of our next classes we can revisit the flu shot question and ask the class what reasons they have for not going to get the flu shot. We may be able to find a correlation and justify that the thought of having a negative stereotype of your own health can be an underlying variable of not going to receive the flu shot.)

Health messages are primarily intended to raise awareness of the dangers bad health can have, but these messages can inadvertently deliver a negative message. Cleopatra Abdou, an assistant professor at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and Department of Psychology, offered reason as to why this might happen. According to Abdou, “An inadvertent byproduct of public health campaigns is that they often communicate and reinforce negative stereotypes about certain groups of people.” Some potential patients might view the advertisements as a way to scare individuals. They might perceive themselves as part of the negative stereotype messages can offer. If a message is delivering facts about obesity, obese individuals might believe they are part of the fat stereotype and that can prompt them to avoid healthcare altogether. “Abdou and her team surveyed an estimated 1,500 people as part of the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. More than 17 percent of the respondents said they felt vulnerable to prejudice with regard to racial or ethnic identity, gender, socio-economic status, weight, or age in health care settings.” This finding has lead to researchers examining new ways to deliver health care messages.

In order to avoid these stereotypes, healthcare providers need to find new ways to inform people about how to live a healthier life while minimizing the possibility of people experiencing a health care stereotype threat. Abdou believes that “It’s time for us to implement policies that enhance medical school training in cultural competency and increase the diversity of our physicians and broader health care workforce.” Hospitals with inclusive policies and those that welcome diversity could reduce the health care stereotype threat and provide individuals with a judge free zone.

Does anyone else have any ideas on how to eliminate the health care stereotype?

SITES:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/10/21/stereotypes-can-harm-health/93790.html

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/11/gender-stereotypes-harmful-group-says.html

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotype

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