Social Stigma in People with Diabetes

People with diabetes often experience social stigmas such as discrimination, exclusion, or blame related to their condition. Such occurrences can hinder these individuals from seeking appropriate help at an early stage and negatively impact disease self-management. Even though people with diabetes and their families encounter various forms of social stigma in their daily lives, academic, practical, and policy-related attention to diabetes-related stigma and its psychosocial consequences is severely lacking. This study focuses on the social stigma associated with diabetes and discusses (1) the concept and current state of diabetes-related social stigma, (2) the impact of such social stigma on people with diabetes, and (3) strategies for preventing such stigma.