Conceptualizing Stigma in the Injured Worker Literature: A Scoping Review.
Mila Popovic, Lauren Reynolds, Chelsea Noël and 2 others
PMID 40100505WHAT IT FOUND
The word "stigma" is rarely used in research on injured workers, making these studies hard to find.
Researchers instead describe these experiences using terms like "malingering," "blame," "discrimination," and "lack of support." This terminology gap limits awareness of the problem.
Key findings
01Only 11% of the included studies used the term "stigma" as a major term throughout the paper, despite the topic being central to the review.
02Researchers describe the stigmatizing experiences of injured workers using 271 unique terms, with the most frequent being "attitudes," "discrimination," "support," "malingering," and "legitimacy."
03The literature focuses heavily on public and structural stigma (e.g., labeling, status loss) but provides limited information on the self-stigma experienced by injured workers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The review excluded non-English articles and gray literature, which may have missed how stigma is discussed in other contexts or by community groups. The search was limited to publications up to November 2022. The review did not assess the quality or risk of bias of the included studies. The definition of "injured worker" relied on studies explicitly stating the injury was work-related, potentially excluding cases where the connection was ambiguous or not acknowledged by the system. The review did not differentiate between types of injuries (e.g., visible vs. invisible), which likely affects the experience and expression of stigma.
Declared interests
The study was funded by EPID@Work. No other conflicts of interest were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of the word "stigma" in these papers as evidence that stigma is not occurring. The review found that stigma is widely discussed, but using alternative terms like "malingering" or "discrimination," which makes it difficult to find in standard database searches.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →