Multimedia messaging to reduce diabetes related stigma for women with gestational diabetes mellitus
Addressing Gestational diabetes stigma through co-designing multimedia anti-stigma interventions
People living with diabetes can experience stigma. Stigma is a negative judgement leading to exclusion, rejection, or blame associated with something (such as diabetes). It can come from the public, partners, family or healthcare professionals, or be felt by the person themself. Stigma may lead people to be less likely to care for their own health, attend medical appointments, and take medications, or cause feelings of loneliness, anxiety or depression.
People who develop diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM) can experience stigma. Pregnancy, in general, is a time when people might experience heightened scrutiny. The additional monitoring during a pregnancy with diabetes focuses on diet and exercise, weight, checking blood glucose and taking medication, so people may face even more stigma.
Aims
This study aims to work with women with GDM, their partners/families and healthcare professionals to create anti-stigma interventions (films/animations and communication tools); and to explore the impact of these.
The objectives include:
- Identifying the linguistic, interactional, behavioural, and contextual triggers and drivers of stigma as experienced by women with GDM.
- Eliciting their partners', families’ and healthcare professionals’ views of stigma related to GDM, considering how their interactions with women can be potentially stigmatising.
- Identify anti-stigma messages/narratives to reduce the impact of stigma during the antenatal and postnatal periods for women with GDM.
- Co-producing anti-stigma resources that challenge stigmatising language and stereotypes with women, their partners, families and healthcare professionals.
Our Partners
Principal Investigators
Professor of Diabetes Nursing
Lecturer in Long-term Conditions and Reproductive Health
Investigators
Lecturer and Researcher in Women's Health in Long-Term Conditions
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Professor of Psychiatry & Medicine
Lecturer in International Education & Applied Linguistics
Senior Lecturer in Performance and Medical Humanities Education
Affiliations
Funding
Funding Body: Diabetes UK
Amount: £240,039.57
Period: April 2024 - March 2026