90% of Liver Transplant Websites Use Stigmatizing Language

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME… –

March 6, 2024 – A “vast majority” of liver transplant centers use stigmatizing language, such as “alcoholic” or “alcohol abuse,” when describing patients with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease on their websites “Our team embarked on this investigation driven by both professional observations and personal experiences in the field of liver transplantation, particularly at a time when alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) has become the leading indication for liver transplants,” Wei Zhang, MD, PhD.

Zhang continued: “The use of biased terms by health care providers, sometimes unconsciously, can significantly disadvantage these patients, undermining their chances for a transplant. This stigma can lead to delays in seeking care or being evaluated for transplantation, and in some instances, it has resulted in preventable loss of life.”

In a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open, Zhang and colleagues investigated use of non-stigmatizing language recommendations across the websites of 114 accredited U.S. liver transplant centers and 104 addiction psychiatry departments in the same health care systems. Researchers categorized each website as using stigmatizing language, non-stigmatizing language or a combination of the two.