Combating Stigma: Strategies for Inclusive Health Services

Enhance your expertise with this comprehensive short course on combating stigma in healthcare. Discover actionable strategies and inclusive practices to effectively address stigma, while building the confidence to advocate for systemic reform and drive improved patient care and outcomes.

Next Dates: 8 Oct; View more dates
Duration: 37.5 hours
Delivery mode: Online
Price (AUD inc. GST): $400 - $1,295

Spots remaining: AVAILABLE
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Course summary

Transform healthcare services through stigma awareness and action

This short course addresses the critical issue of stigma in healthcare, offering you the tools and knowledge needed to identify, understand and tackle its impact. Through a mix of online modules and live lectures, you'll delve into the causes and consequences of stigma, examining how it manifests in healthcare settings and affects patient care. By drawing on cutting-edge research and real-world patient experiences, the course provides evidence-based strategies and practical interventions to reduce stigma and transform the care experience.

Price

Total fees

$400 - $1,295

AUD inc. GST

Who will benefit

Health clinicians, practitioners and peer workers directly involved in patient care who seek to better understand and address stigma in healthcare
Policymakers and advocates aiming to promote systemic reforms and healthcare equity
People with lived/living experiences and community representatives seeking to amplify their voices and advocate for change
Researchers and academics exploring the systemic impact of stigma

Course is suitable for

Healthcare professionals at all levels, including clinicians, practitioners, policymakers and peer workers, seeking actionable strategies to address stigma and improve patient care.
People with lived or living experiences.

Researchers and academics exploring the systemic impact of stigma.
Community representatives and others passionate about overcoming stigma as a barrier to quality healthcare.

Delivered by experts

Loren Brener

Professor - ADA

Expertise in stigma and discrimination within healthcare
Proven ability to bridge theory with practical, actionable solutions
Extensive experience working with diverse stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, policymakers, and community organisations
Deputy Director of UNSW Centre of Social Research in Health (CSRH) and Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC)

Timothy Broady

Senior Lecturer - ADA

Expertise in addressing stigma and discrimination affecting communities impacted by blood-borne viruses
Research focus on HIV prevention and its social implications
Strong understanding of the lived experiences of marginalised groups, contributing valuable insights into healthcare challenges

Alison Marshall

Senior Lecturer - ADA

Expertise in hepatitis C research, with a focus on treatment uptake and health policy
Skilled in applying mixed-methods approaches to address complex healthcare challenges
Extensive experience collaborating with international and national public health agencies to develop evidence-based policies and programs

Lise Lafferty

Senior Lecturer - ADA

Award winning researcher across the Centre for Social Research in Health and the Surveillance Evaluation and Research Program, The Kirby Institute.
Research interests include people who inject drugs (including those in prison and in the community), blood-borne viruses (particularly hepatitis C), sexual health, and Aboriginal health.
Experienced background working with diverse disadvantaged communities including people with disabilities, young people at risk of entering the criminal justice system, and Aboriginal communities.

Elena Cama

Lecturer - ADA

Research focus on experiences, impacts, and responses to different forms of marginalisation, discrimination, and violence
Mixed-methods researcher with a background in criminology, social science, and public health
Aims to develop and trial a new and novel ‘universal’ stigma reduction intervention in health services through a national study

Course designed to stack

1.5 units of credit

TOWARDS

Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

About the course

Tackle stigma head-on with practical tools and real-world insights

Stigma can exist at all levels within a healthcare setting, from interactions between patient and clinician to policies and procedures in health practice. It is a fundamental cause of population health inequities.

In this course, you’ll learn to identify stigmatising language, practices and policies, while gaining an understanding of their unintended negative consequences. By drawing on leading research and real-world patient experiences, you'll explore practical strategies and interventions proven to reduce stigma in healthcare environments. You’ll also reflect on your own workplace, considering how stigma may manifest in your practices and policies.

By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped with the tools and knowledge to influence service design, delivery and practices, helping to reduce stigma and improve patient care.

Why enrol in this course

Strong Theoretical Foundation

Gain a strong theoretical foundation on why stigma exists, its systemic impacts and its role in health inequities.

Expert Guidance

Gain knowledge from leading professionals and individuals with firsthand experience addressing stigma in healthcare.

Transformative Outcomes for Participants and Patients

Utilise tools and strategies from the course to transform patient care experiences and workplace practices, delivering positive healthcare outcomes.

Self-Reflection and Action

Reflect on your own professional practices and workplace environment to identify areas for change.

Key features

Evidence-Based Interventions

Discover proven strategies and practical interventions, backed by research and case studies, to reduce stigma and apply them immediately in healthcare settings.

Collaborative Learning Environment

The course offers a collaborative space for dialogue and shared learning, where lived experiences deepen understanding and inspire collective action to tackle stigma in healthcare.

Real-World Application and Systemic Reform

Apply insights from the latest research and real-world experiences to drive workplace change and systemic reforms for lasting improvements.

Learning outcomes

Shape the future of patient care

This course covers key questions such as why stigma exists, what drives stereotyping, how stigma affects healthcare service provision and, most importantly, how you can change a person's experience of care.

Key outcomes include:

Demonstrating an increased understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable groups in healthcare and implement strategies to reduce stigma in healthcare service delivery and practice
Identifying practices, language and policies that are stigmatising or have unintended negative consequences
Designing workplace initiatives to change stigmatising practices in both service delivery and organisational culture.

What you'll learn

During this course, you will expand your understanding of stigma in healthcare and its far-reaching effects on both patients and services. With a focus on evidence-based methodologies and real-world applications, this course provides the tools and strategies necessary to create inclusive and effective healthcare environments. By completing this course, you will:

Understand the causes and consequences of stigma in healthcare services
Gain practical tools and strategies to address stigma at individual, organisational and systemic levels
Explore real-world case studies and proven interventions for immediate implementation
Strengthen advocacy skills to drive change in workplace practices.

Topics covered

Experiences and impacts of stigma
Stigma in healthcare settings
Stigma case study: Hepatitis C and injecting drug use in prison
Stigma interventions
Changing workplace practice
Stigma theories

Course delivery

Format	Commitment	Delivery	Method
100% online; Weekly live lectures with facilitators. Cohort-based learning Self paced modules	37.5 hours over 7 weeks	Online platform, featuring 6 modules with live lectures, activities, topic-related readings and final assessment	Self paced modules Live lectures Presentation development and delivery

Schedule

You will engage in a combination of weekly live sessions and self-paced online modules, ensuring flexibility and interactive learning. After building a strong theoretical base, you will be encouraged to think about your work practices. You will also apply your knowledge to your own situations.

A key part of the course is learning from different life experiences. These experiences are shared by people who have faced stigma in healthcare. These personal stories and perspectives will deepen your understanding of the real-world impact of stigma.

Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7
Live lecture	Live lecture	Live lecture	Live lecture	Live lecture	Study break	Live lecture

Credentials

1.5 units of credit

TOWARDS

Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

Gain a nanocredential

This is the first nanocredential in a series of courses in development, that can be stacked together to receive 6 units of unspecified credit towards a postgraduate program.

How can I use my credit towards further study?

By completing this course, you will receive 1.5 units of credit that can be used towards stackable courses in the future, earning up to 6 units of credit. You can apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and have these credits transferred, upon commencing a relevant postgraduate program in social impact with the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture.