Reducing Stigma of People with Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Abstract

People with Disability are having limited access to participation. The most significant barrier for people with disabilities to participate is stigma. However, there is a limited source of existing intervention to reduce stigma on people with disabilities. Indonesia, home of more than 20 million people with disabilities, is still having no effort in reducing stigma yet. Therefore, it is important to provide Indonesia with insight of interventions to reduce stigma on people with disabilities. The objective of the study was to provide insight of interventions to reduce stigma on people with disabilities around the world through a systematic review. The study employed a systematic review following the methodological framework provided by Prisma multistep using electronic databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest), reference lists, and journals to locate studies. Inclusion criteria were based on title and content through keyword search with stigma, disability, and intervention as its keyword. The study revealed that from 449 articles that are found online, only 17 are eligible with the inclusion criteria. Most of the interventions are targeting to reduce stigma from the general population towards people with disabilities. Mental disability is the most type of disability addressed by the intervention. The study concluded that education intervention has proven to be the most effective and efficient type of intervention in reducing stigma toward people with disabilities. Especially in Indonesia, a fourth most populous country, increasing impact area by targeting the general population can be seen as the most efficient way in reducing stigma.