Perspectives of Primary Care Providers on the Acceptability of a Brief Video to Decrease the Use of Diabetes-Stigmatizing Language

Diabetes stigma is recognized to negatively impact health-related outcomes and quality of life in adults living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The American Diabetes Association provides guidance for health care providers to decrease the use of diabetes-stigmatizing language. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore primary care providers’ (PCPs’) perspectives on the acceptability of a brief video that we developed to decrease the use of diabetes-stigmatizing language in patient-PCP encounters. PCPs were recruited online from professional organizations and via snowball sampling to participate in a single individual interview via Zoom (December 2021- October 2022). Trained interviewers conducted the interviews via Zoom using a semi-structured interview guide. A qualitative descriptive approach was used in the analysis. Eighteen PCPs were interviewed (44% aged 30-39 years old, 78% female, 78% non-Hispanic White, and 50% nurse practitioners). Qualitative description resulted in 3 major themes. Some PCPs perceive that the language used in patient-PCP encounters appears to play an outsized role in the culture of the clinic as far as endorsing or confronting diabetes stigma. Some PCPs perceive that they already advocate for decreasing the use of diabetes-stigmatizing language by being a role model for fellow PCPs and other colleagues. Some PCPs voiced their perspectives about the potential barriers to shifting PCPs away from the use of diabetes-stigmatizing language, including differing points of view regarding practices for establishing authority and the difficulties of breaking engrained habits. These findings support the acceptability of the video among PCPs for addressing diabetes-stigmatizing language in patient-provider encounters in primary care. Disclosure K.Joiner: None. A.Agapiou: None. M.Adams: None. G.Piatt: None.