Aims: The media is a known driver of health-related stigma, but little is known about its impact on people with diabetes. We aimed to: 1) qualitatively explore the perceptions of the role of the media in stigmatising Type 2 diabetes from the perspective of those living with this condition; 2) to quantitatively assess the association between perceptions of Type 2 diabetes stigma in the media and diabetes distress amongst people with Type 2 diabetes.
Methods: This mixed-methods study constituted semi-structured interviews with adults with Type 2 diabetes (N=25, aged 22-79 years), and a national online survey (MILES-2 study) of adults with Type 2 diabetes (N=1,197, aged 22-75 years). In the survey, perceptions of Type 2 diabetes stigma in the media were assessed by four study-specific items; diabetes distress was measured using the Problem Areas In Diabetes scale.
Results: Interview participants perceived the media, particularly news media and health promotion campaigns, to contribute to Type 2 diabetes stigma. Examples included negative stereotyping, blame-based and negatively-framed messages about diabetes. Participants described negative emotional impacts of perceived stigma. Hierarchical regression analyses of the survey data confirmed the latter finding: perceptions of Type 2 diabetes stigma in the media was significantly, positively correlated with diabetes distress, after controlling for confounders (β=.27, p<0.01).
Conclusions: Adults with Type 2 diabetes perceive the media to be a key driver of diabetes stigma, and perceiving this stigma is associated with poorer diabetes-specific emotional well-being. Consideration must be given to unintended consequences of media messages about Type 2 diabetes.