Stigma and Access to Treatment: Harvard University and University of Michigan Summit on the Opioid Crisis

On October 10, 2019, Harvard University will host a summit on the opioid crisis, “Stigma and Access to Treatment.”

The presidents of Harvard University and the University of Michigan teamed up to organize two summits to address the opioid crisis affecting millions of Americans every year. The first summit, “Opioids: Policy to Practice” was held on May 10, 2019 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The October summit will explore stigma and how care of people with addiction has been framed – including racial aspects, historical roots, and ethical dimensions. Clinicians will discuss barriers to medical treatment including shame, cost and availability. Lawyers and law enforcement will discuss changing norms within the criminal justice system. The summit is co-chaired by Dr. Mary T. Bassett, Harvard FXB Director and FXB Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights in the department of Social and Behavioral Science, and Dr. Chad Brummett, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Director, Anesthesia Clinical Research and Director, Division of Pain Research at the University of Michigan.

This event is sponsored by the Harvard University Office of the President, with support from the Harvard François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Office of the Dean.

The summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center (77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115). For information, please visit the event page.

To watch videos from Stigma and Access to Treatment, visit fxb.harvard.edu/opioidsummit/video.