From Rhetoric to Implementation: Stigma Reduction Efforts in New York City Utilizing Implementation Science and Structural Approaches

Cristina Rodriguez-Hart, PhD, MPH
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

ABSTRACT:
Although widely declared to be a priority for ending the US HIV epidemic, stigma reduction remains siloed, unstructured, and lacking in standard frameworks and methodologies. Much of what has been learned about stigma reduction comes from the global context and focuses on individual and interpersonal-level approaches. What works in high-income, high-burden contexts is still an open question. I will provide an overview of several structural-level stigma reduction efforts in New York City utilizing implementation science, community-planning processes, funding mechanisms, and quality improvement.