Table 2.

Actionable steps to reduce stigma within research dissemination.

Strategy	Key message	Actions researchers can take
1. Address Researcher Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Misconceptions about Pregnant and Parenting People with SUD	Judgments, biases, and misconceptions on the researcher’s part may influence public and self-stigma, addressing these is critical.	Participate in trainings to expose normative judgments and engage with pregnant and parenting people who experience SUD (e.g., Mental Health First Aid, Zero Block Society, or Prevention Technology Transfer Centers)
		Read The Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment “lived experience” publication series and harm reduction toolkits (e.g., from the Perinatal Harm Reduction Coalition).
2. Engage in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations	Transdisciplinary collaborations help us to understand and address stigma, which is a complex, multilevel social phenomenon. Researchers with lived experience exist and have valuable insights and can provide valuable insight into how to reduce stigma in research products for dissemination. They can also act as brokers between other researchers and the community.	Invite researchers from relevant fields to support the framing within research products.
		Engage with researchers who are abstinent/in recovery or currently use drugs to consult on the language used in scholarly products.
		Create collaborative spaces for researchers with and without lived experience to engage with community partners on language and dissemination practices.
		Follow work from NIDA’s Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Centers (TPRCs)
3. Use community-based approaches and engage community partners	Research approaches that actively engage the community partners most involved with and impacted by the conditions being researched (e.g., community-based research models) may successfully reduce stigma.	Conduct community advisory boards.
		Access PCORI’s resources (e.g., “stakeholder engagement plans”).
4. Address stigmatizing language in science communication	Community-informed resources for de-stigmatized terms (e.g., person-first language) are available and constantly evolving.	Avoid the use of slang and idioms.
		Use current resources, such as NIDA’s “words matter” resource, “the addictionary,” and NIH’s recommendations for reducing alcohol-related stigma that inform the use of de-stigmatized terminology.
		Focus on the medical nature of SUD and treatment.
		Use “recovery-promoting” language.
5. Provide contextualizing information about the social and environmental factors that influence substance use among pregnant and parenting people	Theoretical frameworks presented by the researchers shape self and public perception - utilizing contextual frameworks that recognize the multiply determined nature of substance use may minimize stigma.	Utilize contextual theoretical frameworks that acknowledge biological, social, political, and environmental determinants of SUD within research products.
		Ensure accurate representation of existing research
		Avoid overly focusing on the child
6. Advocate for stigma-reducing policies in research articles and other scholarly products	Policies and guidelines reinforce scientific procedures and communication strategies, which can be leveraged to reduce stigma.	Clearly state how public policy is affecting your sample in academic papers.
		Write to funding and publishing bodies to advocate for the development of stigma-reducing policies and guidelines.
		Learn about the research-to-policy collaboration