Opioid Response

The North Sound BH-ASO is committed to collaborative leadership and multidisciplinary partnership across the region to impact the disease of opioid use disorder.  Our Opioid Response Plan is being updated and will be available soon.  

The Language of Stigma

As the North Sound BH-ASO and our regional partners have worked together to address the opioid crisis, stigma has consistently been identified as a factor that discourages individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) from seeking treatment and contributes to public misunderstanding of the disease. One way stigma manifests is in the language commonly used to describe OUD and its related symptoms. We hope the attached resources will be useful to our partners as they join us in fighting stigma and hopefully reconsider the terminology used to describe persons with OUD and their condition. The attachments include:

• The Language of Stigma - a six-page informational overview and compendium of "stigma alert" terms, that also includes links to numerous other related resources
• Language of Stigma at a Glance- a one-page list of potentially stigmatizing terms and alternate terminology to consider using in their place
• The Shatterproof Stigma Information Sheet - created by a national advocacy organization for widespread dissemination (they have confirmed their permission to reproduce it)
  
  

We are committed to working with our partners to end the stigma that continues to accompany the disease of addiction.

Related Files:

Updated Opioid Response Plan Coming Soon