A new guide on 'inclusive communication' by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote 'health equity' has published a long list of words and phrases such as elderly, smokers and poor for les 'dehumanizing' language.
The guide includes a list of guiding principles and preferred terms to use rather than seemingly dehumanizing ones such as 'poor' and 'elderly' to foster 'an ongoing shift toward non-stigmatizing language.'
'Long-standing systemic social and health inequities ... have put some population groups at increased risk of getting sick, having overall poor health, and having worse outcomes when they do get sick,' the guide reads.
'Avoid perpetuating these inequities in communication.'
Some of the categories in the new CDC language guide are seen
The guide asks health communicators and medical professionals to 'consider how racism and other forms of discrimination unfairly disadvantage people and lead to social and health inequities.'
'Language in communication products should reflect and speak to the needs of people in the audience of focus,' the CDC website reads.
The guide provides lists of words in multiple categories to avoid using, and suggests replacements to use in their stead.
Most of the recommendations are structured to read such as 'a person with disabilities' rather than describing someone as 'disabled.'
In the disability category, the CDC also recommends avoiding the use of 'differently abled', 'afflicted' and 'handicapped.'
And instead of calling someone 'elderly' or a 'senior,' the CDC recommends using the terms 'older adults' or 'elders.'
For drug and substance abuse terms, the CDC guide recommends avoiding the terms 'drug-users/addicts/drug abusers' or 'alcoholics/abusers.'
Instead, the CDC prefers that they be called terms such as 'persons with substance use disorder' or 'persons with alcohol use disorder' - or even 'persons in recovery from substance use/alcohol disorder.'
The CDC has even asked for 'smokers' to be referred to as 'people who smoke.'
Meanwhile, poor people should be referred to as 'people with lower incomes' or 'people experiencing poverty.'
And instead of 'homeless people' or 'transient people,' the CDC recommends referring to them as 'people experiencing homelessness' or 'persons who are not securely housed.'
The CDC has recommended avoiding words such as 'mentally ill' and 'crazy' and 'insane' while also avoiding using words such as 'asylum' in reference to mental hospitals and facilities.
The guide even includes a category for immigration, recommending that medical professionals avoid using such terms as 'illegals', 'illegal immigrants.' and 'illegal aliens.'
Instead, the CDC prefers dropping the word 'illegal' from the description or using terms like 'people with undocumented status' or 'foreign-born persons.'
When it comes to crime, the CDC recommends avoiding terms like 'inmate' and 'prisoner' and 'criminal.' Instead, the agency prefers terms like 'people who are incarcerated' or 'people who were formerly incarcerated.'
The guide also has lengthy categories on topics such as how to refer to people who identify as LGBTQ or people of other races and ethnicities.
A new guide on 'inclusive communication' has been published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to promote 'health equity'. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle
The CDC recommends avoiding terms like 'inmate' and 'prisoner' and 'criminal.' Instead, the agency prefers terms like 'people who are incarcerated'
For drug and substance abuse terms, the CDC guide recommends avoiding the terms 'drug-users/addicts/drug abusers' or 'alcoholics/abusers'
No comments:
Post a Comment