Do Words Matter? A Vignette Study Exploring How Substance Use Descriptions Influence Perceptions of the Substance Involved in Police Encounters
BACKGROUND: Substance use is common in Canada, yet a focus on substance use disorders (SUD) reinforces stigma and barriers to care. Health-spectrum language has been proposed to reduce stigma’s impact. We explore how describing substance use across a health spectrum in a police encounter influences stereotypes associat...