Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity
Krzysztof Sobczak, Katarzyna Leoniuk Department of Sociology of Medicine and Social Pathology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, PolandCorrespondence: Krzysztof Sobczak Email krzysztof.sobczak@gumed.edu.plPurpose: Many studies show that discriminatory practices are common in healthcare instituti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Risk Management and Healthcare Policy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/attitudes-of-medical-professionals-towards-discrimination-of-patients--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RMHP |
| _version_ | 1819135539430817792 |
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| author | Sobczak K Leoniuk K |
| author_facet | Sobczak K Leoniuk K |
| author_sort | Sobczak K |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Krzysztof Sobczak, Katarzyna Leoniuk Department of Sociology of Medicine and Social Pathology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, PolandCorrespondence: Krzysztof Sobczak Email krzysztof.sobczak@gumed.edu.plPurpose: Many studies show that discriminatory practices are common in healthcare institutions, also in the form of medical staff’s inappropriate behaviour. Weight stigma may not only become a source of unpleasant experience for the patients but also cause them to withdraw from the treatment, which may further exacerbate their condition.Patients and Methods: In a nationwide study, we asked 184 medical professionals, about their experiences and opinions on the discrimination of patients with obesity. The study was conducted in 2020, with the use of CAWI method, based on an original survey created for this study.Results: Most of the medical professionals (68.5%) estimated that the problem of worse attitudes towards patients suffering from obesity is a common phenomenon. About 48.4% witnessed medical staff’s discriminatory behaviours. The most frequent forms of inappropriate behaviours pertained to interpersonal relations – mocking the appearance (96.6%), looks of disgust and repulsion (96.2%), lack of reaction to offensive remarks (92.0%) or scaring a patient with the necessity to lose weight (57.7%). The participants of the study pointed to limited access to dedicated medical equipment (62.4%) as a discriminatory systemic limitation.Conclusion: Discrimination of patients with obesity is a social issue, which also occurs within the health care system. Limited access to medical resources, gaps in knowledge of obesity and an insufficient level of soft skills in health care professionals are the key deficiencies, which hinder effective treatment.Keywords: obesity stigma, weight discrimination, health behaviours, health personnel |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:20:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72c3aec3cf9048e0bd7a131df023f364 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-1594 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T10:20:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Risk Management and Healthcare Policy |
| spelling | doaj.art-72c3aec3cf9048e0bd7a131df023f3642022-12-21T18:29:38ZengDove Medical PressRisk Management and Healthcare Policy1179-15942021-10-01Volume 144169417569518Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with ObesitySobczak KLeoniuk KKrzysztof Sobczak, Katarzyna Leoniuk Department of Sociology of Medicine and Social Pathology, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, PolandCorrespondence: Krzysztof Sobczak Email krzysztof.sobczak@gumed.edu.plPurpose: Many studies show that discriminatory practices are common in healthcare institutions, also in the form of medical staff’s inappropriate behaviour. Weight stigma may not only become a source of unpleasant experience for the patients but also cause them to withdraw from the treatment, which may further exacerbate their condition.Patients and Methods: In a nationwide study, we asked 184 medical professionals, about their experiences and opinions on the discrimination of patients with obesity. The study was conducted in 2020, with the use of CAWI method, based on an original survey created for this study.Results: Most of the medical professionals (68.5%) estimated that the problem of worse attitudes towards patients suffering from obesity is a common phenomenon. About 48.4% witnessed medical staff’s discriminatory behaviours. The most frequent forms of inappropriate behaviours pertained to interpersonal relations – mocking the appearance (96.6%), looks of disgust and repulsion (96.2%), lack of reaction to offensive remarks (92.0%) or scaring a patient with the necessity to lose weight (57.7%). The participants of the study pointed to limited access to dedicated medical equipment (62.4%) as a discriminatory systemic limitation.Conclusion: Discrimination of patients with obesity is a social issue, which also occurs within the health care system. Limited access to medical resources, gaps in knowledge of obesity and an insufficient level of soft skills in health care professionals are the key deficiencies, which hinder effective treatment.Keywords: obesity stigma, weight discrimination, health behaviours, health personnelhttps://www.dovepress.com/attitudes-of-medical-professionals-towards-discrimination-of-patients--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RMHPobesity stigmaweight discriminationhealth behaviourshealth personnel |
| spellingShingle | Sobczak K Leoniuk K Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity Risk Management and Healthcare Policy obesity stigma weight discrimination health behaviours health personnel |
| title | Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity |
| title_full | Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity |
| title_fullStr | Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity |
| title_short | Attitudes of Medical Professionals Towards Discrimination of Patients with Obesity |
| title_sort | attitudes of medical professionals towards discrimination of patients with obesity |
| topic | obesity stigma weight discrimination health behaviours health personnel |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/attitudes-of-medical-professionals-towards-discrimination-of-patients--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-RMHP |
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