Stigmatizing Labels You May Not Realize You’re Using

Labels can be hurtful and stigmatizing to the person on the receiving end. Words such as such as “diabetic”, “addict”, and “crazy”… focuses more on the disease rather than the actual patient who has their own life experiences and is more than their medical condition. Using inclusive and non-biased language can help reduce stigma in the medical and nutrition fields.

Below are a few examples of inclusive and non-bias language you can start using today whether you’re charting a patients note, or discussing their nutrition care plan with the doctor or nurse.

Instead of Referring to a Patient as…

• diabetic TRY SAYING patient with diabetes

• elderly TRY SAYING patient is an older adult

• addict TRY SAYING patient with a substance use disorder

• wheelchair-bound TRY SAYING patient who uses a wheelchair

• convict TRY SAYING patient who is/has been incarcerated

• born a girl TRY SAYING patient Assigned female at birth

• hearing impaired TRY SAYING patient is hard-of-hearing

• crazy TRY SAYING patient with a mental disorder

Reference: America Psychological Association https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines