Complexities in Nursing: Stigma of Sickle Cell Disease

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We have worked hard and long to eradicate racism from our world but stigmatization is still prevalent in our societies; in fact health-related stigma is on the rise. One group of individuals affected by this social disqualification is the one suffering from Sickle Cell Disease. According to research, 1 in 365 African Americans suffers from Sickle Cell Disease (Hassel Kl, 2010) and it was the cause of 29,000 deaths globally in 2010. The clinical manifestations of SCD frequently lead to unexpected episodes of pain (Strickland O, Jackson G, Gilead M, McGuire DB, Quarles S, 2001) but the treatment depends on the healthcare provider, such as the nurses, who assess the patient’s condition and decide whether the pain is real and deserving of treatment (Maxwell KS, Streetly A, 1998). The trustworthiness of patients with SCD, especially young African Americans, is often questioned and the nurses label them as drug addicts (Maxwell K, Streetly A, Bevan D, 1999). When individuals ask for pain medications or analgesics, it is mostly interpreted as drug-seeking behaviour (Jacob E, 2001) and nurses, in their ignorance may refuse to comply with the patients’ wishes. Indeed, most adults seeking SCD treatment are African Americans of a lower socioeconomic standing (Ely B, Dampier C, Gilday M, O’Neal P, Brodecki D, 2002) and so are the victims of racial stereotyping and mistrust (Todd KH, Green C, Bonham VL, Jr, Haywood C, Jr, Ivy E, 2006). Many of the patients presenting with complaints of pain have to wait an average of 90 minutes before they are provided with the pain relieving medications they need (Tanabe P, Myers R, Zosel A, Brice J, Ansari AH, Evans J, et al, 2007), due to the nurses’ lack of knowledge and the difficulty in objectively assessing the pain. This devaluation leads to low self-esteem and a feeling of inadequacy. The negative behaviour of healthcare givers like

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