Stigmatized Illnesses and Health Care

Being disabled because of a disease or injury can lead to invalidity benefits – a pension, for example, or a reserved parking space. In some instances, the benefits are very attractive but, in most countries of the world, the disabled have no access to any governmental help, and insurance premiums are so high that only a minority of the population can participate in disability compensations schemes. In some situations, disability due to a war injury or to some other situation that confers hero status can also bring social respect and moral prestige to the disabled person.For the vast majority of disabled people, however, the disadvantages of disability are much more important than its advantages. A restriction of the possibility of participation in normal social life and limitations in the pursuit of personal happiness are often grave and depressing for the person with an impairment that causes a disability.When the disease or the situation that has produced impairment is stigmatized,...