The (in)visible cloak: How intersecting stigmas associated with mental and chronic physical disease shape perceptions in a healthcare setting

Objectives Mental illness stigma is widely examined in healthcare, yet less is known about its intersections with the stigma of chronic physical conditions in shaping distinct forms of disadvantage. Here, we investigate whether patients with concurrent mental and physical health conditions are perceived and treated differently by prospective medical doctors. Methods Using a mixed-methods design, preclinical medical students (N = 463) evaluated clinical vignettes describing patients with single (i.e., mental or physical chronic disease) and multiple health conditions (i.e., concurrent mental and physical conditions). We assessed emotional reactions, attributions of disease aetiology, caregiving attitudes and meta-beliefs about patients' disclosure behaviour. Participants were also asked to report as accurately as possible on symptoms presented by each patient in the vignette. Results Findings revealed that stigmatized conditions were associated with higher levels of caregiving discomfort, greater disease disclosure reticence and lower levels of symptom recall accuracy. Compared with patients with single conditions, those with concurrent mental and physical illnesses were less likely to receive care, were attributed a lesser tendency to conceal their conditions and had their symptoms recalled less accurately. Conclusions Results indicate that when mental and physical illnesses intersect, patients with multiple stigmatized conditions may be differentially perceived in the eyes of medical students and may become (in)visible targets of discrimination in a healthcare setting. We discuss implications for enhancing awareness of social determinants of health and disease for a more representative, responsive and inclusive healthcare curriculum and practice.