Ethical Framework
Ethics: Parties involved
People with substance use disorder will be empowered to seek treatment because there will be less shame associated with their diseases. People will be treated with more respect and dignity. There will be reduced costs to society in criminal justice and healthcare costs. Families will benefit. There will be less trauma. Raising awareness about the role of language in perpetuating stigma will help people who need treatment because they will not be held back by the thought: “I should be able to do this on my own” or “if I only had enough willpower to deal with this.”
The Utilitarian Approach
Promoting language that describes people who have substance use disorder as suffering from a chronic illness versus “being” a chronic health condition will do good for many and can do no harm. People who are harmed by stigma will be empowered to seek treatment, improve their socio-economic status, go to school, have supportive social networks, and improved general health.
There will be a change from calling someone an “addict with a habit” to “a person with substance use disorder.” This change will reduce the barrier to treatment that stigma represents.
Members of traditional 12-step recovery groups may not support this project as it will represent a different way of thinking. I need to collect more information about what the most effective and least threatening way is to share this project so that it does not intimidate older members of traditional 12-step recovery groups and turn them off to the idea of changing the language used in 12-step meetings.
The Rights Approach
Our right to respect and personal human dignity is based in the Rights Approach to ethical decision making. We have the right to choose what works for each one of us, but we also must respect that ability in others. We must think for ourselves so that implicit and explicit bias to avoid groupthink (Capsim, 2020). It is ethical to give grace to other’s lives. When a person has an illness, whether that is heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or substance use disorder, they have a right to dignified treatment; treatment that does not become traumatizing. This treatment includes methods not biased or withheld based on socio-economic status. A question that is good to ask yourself is: is my action respecting other people’s rights? For people with substance use disorder, this question could be, “ am I respecting the rights of people to seek treatment and to be spoken about with terms that are dignified and not derogatory?” Are other people fully informed about their rights? Do people with substance use disorder know that disease is not their fault? Are they aware there is a new way to live if they choose that way?
When this ethical approach is applied, it means that people who choose to use substances to the extent that it causes problems in their lives have the right to be treated with respect about that decision even if someone disagrees with their choice.
The Justice Approach
The Fairness of Justice Approach focuses on fairness and equality. The Justice Approach is the most problematic ethical decision-making approach for me because it does guarantee equality or fairness. As long as there is equality at the beginning, then fairness is not a standard. And, when there is inequality, then fairness is a standard. Justice and fairness, though is subjective and based on a group/collective decision. A way of saying this is, as long as there is an agreed-upon standard socially constructed to be fair, then inequality is defensible.
You can apply this argument to the disparity in how wages are structured. The gap between executive wages and other’s wages is defensible because it is agreed upon by those in power and control and fair because everyone experiences the disparity. This disparity can be defended and considered just.
The Common Good Approach
Families, employers, friends, government, taxpayers, and just about everyone will benefit from reducing stigma. Social Determinants of Health (SODH) are becoming well-recognized indicators of the risk of chronic illness (Hydock, n.d.). These are non-medical factors impacting health and include factors such as stigma. Reducing stigma has the potential to reduce the barrier to getting treatment and improving general health and well-being.
The Virtue Approach
I can have empathy for others who 1) do not yet understand the social construction reality of stigma, and 2) do not know how language perpetuates stigma. I want to empower people who need help in seeking treatment and to have empathy for myself, as a person who has had poor self-esteem because I did not understand the stigma that kept me from seeking help.
Conclusion About My Project
I am satisfied with the course of action of my project. The project changed from focusing on inequality in treatment to raising awareness of stigma. Through this journey, I have learned how to be more realistic and that more is not better, that small contributions matter, and it is important to value each step. I have started something with the Stigma website that will grow. I plan to keep working on this project, using it as a platform to continue raising awareness about stigma as I grow and move on to my Master’s work.
When completed, I will have something to share with people to educate them about stigma. During the virus pandemic, I have hosted weekly Zoom AA meetings. Each week, I have shared some of my portfolios with them and some of the presentations. People are interested. It appears we know little about substance use disorder, the evolution of stigma, and the history of the use of substances. I plan to use my platform to share all that I have been given.
I am proud of my work. I have synthesized Strategic Communications coursework such as understanding the meaning of competent communication, presentation design techniques, marketing, and public relations campaign development, writing, and communication theory with my work in the Honors Program for Social Change. The social change I hope for is to reduce the effects of the stigma of substance use disorder and empower people who need treatment to get it and to support people who are living in recovery. As I move forward, this work will continue to be advocacy and academic pursuits.
References
Capsim (2020). Five ways to shape ethical decisions: the rights approach. Capsim Management Solutions. Retrieved May 13 2020 from https://www.capsim.com/blog/five-ways-shape-ethical-decisions-rights-approach/
Hydok, M. (n.d.). Social determinants of health: using consumer insights to move from why to how. Huron Insights. Retrieved April 27, 2020 from https://www.huronconsultinggroup.com/resources/healthcare/social-determinants-of-health-consumer-insights?utm_source=adwd&utm_medium=psea-retargeting&utm_term=2019-hc-thoughtleadership&utm_content=adwd-hc-thoughtleadership-socialdeterminants&utm_campaign=7014O000001got1&creative=430455454479&keyword=%2Bsocial%20%2Bhealth%20%2Bdeterminants&matchtype=b&network=g&device=c&gclid=CjwKCAjw4pT1BRBUEiwAm5QuR4g0ljLYvUXFNT38Fo1zK1DL6tRJKz73qiIo08kAgLtTo6Bq-MzxShoCaZEQAvD_BwE
Jeffrey, S. (n.d.) Core values list: over 200 personal values to discover what’s most important to you. CE Sage. Retrieved April 27, 2020 from https://scottjeffrey.com/core-values-list/
Values (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2020 from Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_(ethics)