Sarah E Stutterheim
Biographic Data
| ID | 1254784 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sarah E Stutterheim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sarah E |
| FAMILY NAME | Stutterheim |
| SIGNATURE | STUTTERHEIM S E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Maastricht University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9336-5022 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 160 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 37 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Inclusion as a buffer
Purpose Despite increasing workplace protections for transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals, microaggressions remain prevalent in organizational settings. In the context of growing societal scrutiny towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and a heightened backlash specifically targeting trans communities, it is crucial to understand how inclusion shapes the experiences of TGD employees. Design/methodology/approach Usi…
From Stigma to Support
Menstrual leave is an emerging reproductive health organizational policy gaining attention in Europe but research remains limited. Drawing on 45 semi‐structured interviews with menstruating and nonmenstruating workers in Croatia, Germany, and Italy, we applied thematic analysis to explore workplace perceptions of menstruation and menstrual leave policies (MLPs). We found that menstruation was widely positioned as taboo in the workplace, with part…
Reducing internalized HIV stigma with Intervention Mapping
HIV is a highly stigmatized condition, and negative beliefs about HIV and people with HIV are frequently internalized. This paper describes how we designed, implemented, and evaluated RESET, an intervention aiming to reduce internalized HIV stigma among people with HIV in the Netherlands. This face-to-face, three-session workshop series was designed, implemented, and evaluated with Intervention Mapping, a systematic approach to behavior change th…
From initial awareness to sustained involvement
HIV remains a persistent global health challenge, emphasizing the urgent need for an effective cure. Meaningful engagement of affected communities is essential for advancing HIV cure efforts. Using stage theories of behavior change, this paper investigated engagement as a dynamic process. Engagement was highlighted with five interconnected stages: awareness, perceived relevance, decision-making, participation, and sustained involvement. These sta…
When Opportunity Fails
Homelessness among Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrant communities is a concern in several Western European countries, including the Netherlands, where migration from other EU countries is often motivated by perceived employment opportunities. This study aimed to better understand the emergence of CEE labour migrants' homelessness. Based on interviews with 42 Polish and Romanian labour migrants, we explored patterns of events and situation…
Lived experiences of menstruation among transgender and gender diverse people
As menstruation is often framed as a feminine experience and transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people transgress cishegemony, TGD people navigate the complex intersection of two stigmas: menstrual stigma and transphobia. In this qualitative interview study with reflexive thematic analysis, we explored TGD people's lived experiences of menstruating in a gender diverse body, paying particular attention to how TGD experience menstruation and navi…
Healthcare providers' intention to discriminate against people with HIV
Background: Healthcare providers' discrimination practices against people with HIV is a real challenge for control and prevention efforts. The study aims to explore the association between healthcare providers' intention to discriminate against people with HIV and HIV stigma-related constructs, their sociodemographic, and occupation characteristics in Sudan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of healthcare providers was carried out in governmental…
HIV testing among sub-Saharan African migrants in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands, sub-Saharan African migrants (SSAM) are disproportionately affected by HIV, and late HIV diagnoses remain a significant challenge. Using a socioecological framework, we explored barriers and facilitators to HIV testing from the perspectives of a diverse group of 32 SSAM and 13 key informants (KI) through semi-structured interviews. Interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Identified barriers to HIV testi…
Access to HIV prevention, testing and care among people with a migration background in Euregio Meuse-Rhine
This study addresses disparities among people with a migration background (PMB) and those in less-urban regions, across the HIV prevention and care continuum (HIVPCC). We conducted a needs assessment and assets assessment to identify gaps between existing initiatives and persisting barriers. The research was conducted in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR), encompassing bordering regions in Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, and involved in-depth i…
The role of fear as a barrier and facilitator to antiretroviral therapy initiation in Indonesia
Initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Indonesia poses major challenges, with limited studies on specific ART initiation barriers and facilitators. Using a socioecological approach, we explored, through semi-structured interviews, the perspectives of 67 participants: 17 people with HIV not (yet) on ART, 30 people with HIV on treatment, and 20 HIV service providers (HSPs). Fears emerged as pervasive barriers to initiation encompassing, at the …
Evaluating the Implementation of Home-Based Sexual Health Care Among Men Who Have Sex with Men
Home-based sexual health care (including self-sampling testing) could reduce barriers to clinic-based testing. This study systematically evaluated the implementation of home-based sexual health care ('Limburg4Zero') among men who have sex with men (MSM) in a mixed urban-rural region of the Netherlands. We systematically assessed implementation outcomes (contextual domains, population reached, effectiveness, adoption by health care providers (HCP)…
The Workplace Experiences of Transgender and Gender Diverse Employees
A randomized controlled trial investigating two protective filtering strategies to mitigate the effects of beauty-ideal media imagery on women's body image
Recent research has shown that women with a positive body image engage in a process called protective filtering—whereby they ‘filter in’ information that can promote and protect their positive body image, and ‘filter out’ information that could be harmful. In this study, we investigated two protective filtering strategies and whether they could mitigate the effects of beauty-ideal media imagery (one particularly pervasive body-image ‘threat’) on …
Engagement of HIV-negative MSM and partners of people with HIV in HIV cure (research)
As the prospect of an HIV cure is gaining prominence, engaging key populations affected by an HIV cure becomes essential. This study examined the engagement of HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) and/or partners of people with HIV (PHIV) in the Netherlands. Interviews were conducted with 19 MSM not in relationships with a partner with HIV and 16 partners of PHIV and were thematically analyzed. Perspectives on the importance of an HIV cur…
Determinants of HIV Testing Among Migrant Men Who Have Sex With Men from Sub-Saharan Africa and Other Regions Residing in 10 European Countries
Migrant men who have sex with men (mMSM) from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other regions outside Europe are highly vulnerable to HIV. However, research on the determinants of HIV testing among mMSM from SSA, and how these differ across the categories of mMSM living in Europe, is limited. Using data from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS-2017), we assessed HIV testing prevalence and recency in mMSM from SSA and other mMSM residing in ten Euro…
Unmasking Individual and Institutional HIV Stigma in Hospitals
People with HIV continue to experience HIV stigma. Quantitative data on HIV stigma perpetrated by healthcare providers of hospitals providing HIV care in high-income countries are limited. The aim of this study is to investigate factors associated with HIV stigma in Dutch healthcare settings from the healthcare providers' perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional study using the questionnaire 'Measuring HIV Stigma and Discrimination Among Healt…
The relationships of sexually harassing behaviors to organizational context factors and working men's dark personality traits
This research examined the roles of organization contexts factors and dark personality traits in men's ( N = 600) self‐reports of sexually harassing behaviors toward women in the workplace. Four organization context factors (a permissive climate, a masculinized job/gender context, male/female contact, and Masculinity Contest Culture [MCC] Norms) and four dark personality traits (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism) were examined…
How Closing a Street Sex Work Zone Impacts Sex Workers’ Vulnerability
Intervention mapping as a guide to developing, implementing, and evaluating stigma reduction interventions
Stigmatization is a complex and deeply ingrained process, not easily amenable to change. The field of systematic behavior change can offer guidance for the improvement of stigma reduction efforts. In this article, we describe Intervention Mapping as a relevant approach for designing stigma reduction interventions. We demonstrate that, for stigma reduction to be effective, a number of actions are essential. We must (1) ascertain, at various socioe…
I only wanted one thing and that was to be who I am now”
Developing vocational identity as a young adult is a complex feat and may be even more so for transgender people, who have to navigate their professional selves in a largely cisgender and heteronormative world that minoritizes them. This qualitative study explores how transgender youths develop a vocational identity. Through 10 in‐depth interviews in the Netherlands and Belgium, we found that participants had to negotiate favoring education (at t…
PrEP Use in Times of Covid-19 in the Netherlands
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV care and prevention efforts have been disrupted. We investigated pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and testing behaviors among MSM in the Netherlands, and the factors that influenced testing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort of 766 MSM, established in 2017, was asked in August 2020 to report on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic via an online survey. Participants (n = 319) rep…
Perspectives on mental health difficulties amongst second‐generation Chinese individuals in Germany
Migration demands may put Chinese people living abroad at higher risk for mental health difficulties. However, mental illness is stigmatised and often neglected. The aim of this study was to investigate mental illness stigma endorsement amongst second‐generation Chinese individuals in Germany and explore the role of acculturation and stigma on mental health service‐seeking behaviours. In semi‐structured interviews with 23 second‐generation Chines…
A part of being a woman, really”
This research extends understandings of women's lived experiences of menopause at work, as embodied complex gendered aging. Menopause as a type of “dirty” femininity and femme performance is theorized to elucidate both the stigmatizing effects of menopause at work and the opportunity to reclaim femininity in‐and‐for itself. This theory is illustrated through the accounts of women experiencing menopause at work. Menopause at work is problematized,…
Correlates of hepatitis B testing in Ghana
Hepatitis B testing is the gateway for prevention and care. However, previous studies document low hepatitis B testing uptake in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B as correlates of hepatitis B testing behaviours among people in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 971 participants (Greater Accra = 503, and Northern reg…
The worldwide burden of HIV in transgender individuals
Introduction Transgender individuals are at risk for HIV. HIV risks are dynamic and there have been substantial changes in HIV prevention (e.g., pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP]). It is thus time to revisit HIV prevalence and burden among transgender individuals. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was thus to examine worldwide prevalence and burden of HIV over the course of the epidemic among trans feminine and trans masculi…
Stigma
It has been 50 years since the publication of Goffman's influential work Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. This special issue celebrates Goffman's contribution with 14 articles reflecting the current state of the art in stigma research. In this article, we provide a theoretical overview of the stigma concept and offer a useful taxonomy of four types of stigma (public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association, and structural st…
Stigma by Association Among Family Members of People with a Mental Illness
People with mental illness are not the sole recipients of stigmatisation; their immediate family members may be subjected to stigma by association. Through semi‐structured interviews, we investigated experiences of stigma by association among 23 immediate family members of people with mental illness. Participants reported experiencing stigma by association from community members, mental health professionals, and civil servants. Familial relations…
A part of being a woman, really”
This research extends understandings of women's lived experiences of menopause at work, as embodied complex gendered aging. Menopause as a type of “dirty” femininity and femme performance is theorized to elucidate both the stigmatizing effects of menopause at work and the opportunity to reclaim femininity in‐and‐for itself. This theory is illustrated through the accounts of women experiencing menopause at work. Menopause at work is problematized,…
Female Sex Trafficking
Female sex trafficking is a pressing concern. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of relevant issues regarding the concept of female sex trafficking and research in the field of human trafficking, drawing on a variety of disciplines, including economics, gender and sexuality studies, psychology, sociology, law, and social work. We discuss the debates surrounding the definition of human trafficking, compare and contrast it with hu…
I only wanted one thing and that was to be who I am now”
Developing vocational identity as a young adult is a complex feat and may be even more so for transgender people, who have to navigate their professional selves in a largely cisgender and heteronormative world that minoritizes them. This qualitative study explores how transgender youths develop a vocational identity. Through 10 in‐depth interviews in the Netherlands and Belgium, we found that participants had to negotiate favoring education (at t…
Advancing methodology in the study of HIV status disclosure
The role of support for transgender and nonbinary employees
The development of diverse and inclusive workforces is increasingly being prioritized by organizations. However, organizations often struggle to adequately address the unique issues faced by transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people, and this can result in workplace discrimination, with deleterious consequences on employees' job attitudes and behavior, and their well-being. Co-worker and organizational support may play an important role for TNB empl…
Correlates of hepatitis B testing in Ghana
Hepatitis B testing is the gateway for prevention and care. However, previous studies document low hepatitis B testing uptake in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B as correlates of hepatitis B testing behaviours among people in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 971 participants (Greater Accra = 503, and Northern reg…
HIV status disclosure among HIV-positive African and Afro-Caribbean people in the Netherlands
HIV status disclosure is often characterized as a dilemma. On the one hand, disclosure can promote health, social support, and psychological well-being. On the other, disclosure can lead to stigmatization, rejection, and other negative social interactions. Previous research has shown that HIV status disclosure is a reasoned process whereby the costs and benefits to oneself and to others are weighed. As such, understanding disclosure requires unde…
Beliefs Contributing to HIV‐related Stigma in African and Afro‐Caribbean Communities in the Netherlands
Thirty years after the first diagnosis, people living with HIV (PLWH) around the world continue to report stigmatizing experiences. In this study, beliefs contributing to HIV‐related stigma in African and Afro‐Caribbean diaspora communities and their cultural context were explored through semi‐structured interviews with HIV‐positive ( N = 42) and HIV‐negative ( N = 52) African, Antillean and Surinamese diaspora community members in the Netherland…
Factors contributing to inconsistent condom use among heterosexual men in Curaçao
This study explored, from a public health perspective, factors that contribute to inconsistent condom use by men in Curaçao through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 21 heterosexual men. The findings show that there is an important disconnect between what is considered culturally appropriate sexual behaviour for men and women and condom use, that diverging from prescribed notions of masculinity and femininity in order to use condoms co…
Stigma
It has been 50 years since the publication of Goffman's influential work Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. This special issue celebrates Goffman's contribution with 14 articles reflecting the current state of the art in stigma research. In this article, we provide a theoretical overview of the stigma concept and offer a useful taxonomy of four types of stigma (public stigma, self-stigma, stigma by association, and structural st…
Advancing methodology in the study of HIV status disclosure
Stigma by Association Among Family Members of People with a Mental Illness
People with mental illness are not the sole recipients of stigmatisation; their immediate family members may be subjected to stigma by association. Through semi‐structured interviews, we investigated experiences of stigma by association among 23 immediate family members of people with mental illness. Participants reported experiencing stigma by association from community members, mental health professionals, and civil servants. Familial relations…
Female Sex Trafficking
Female sex trafficking is a pressing concern. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of relevant issues regarding the concept of female sex trafficking and research in the field of human trafficking, drawing on a variety of disciplines, including economics, gender and sexuality studies, psychology, sociology, law, and social work. We discuss the debates surrounding the definition of human trafficking, compare and contrast it with hu…
Stigma experiences among substance users with HIV
Two conditions that are highly stigmatized are substance use and HIV. In this qualitative study, we investigated, through thematic analyses of verbatim transcripts, 15 substance users’ experiences with receiving their diagnosis, making disclosure decisions, and receiving and dealing with stigmatizing reactions. Motivations to disclose included being in poor health, having visible symptoms, others seeing HIV medication, poor medication access with…
To die is better than to tell”
Our findings highlight various reasons for and against disclosure of chronic hepatitis B status in Ghana. Because anticipated, observed, and experienced stigma were important motivations for non-disclosure of chronic hepatitis B status, we recommend the development and implementation of theory and evidence-based stigma reduction interventions that are culturally appropriate, and that prioritize the participation of target populations. We also rec…
The role of support for transgender and nonbinary employees
The development of diverse and inclusive workforces is increasingly being prioritized by organizations. However, organizations often struggle to adequately address the unique issues faced by transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people, and this can result in workplace discrimination, with deleterious consequences on employees' job attitudes and behavior, and their well-being. Co-worker and organizational support may play an important role for TNB empl…
Breastfeeding, ‘tainted’ love, and femmephobia
In this conceptual analysis, we theorise breastfeeding as an embodied ‘dirty’ performance of femininity and draw on Hoskin’s work on femme theory to propose that women who breastfeed in public, who do so for an ‘extended’ time, and who enjoy it are subject to femmephobic attacks. We integrate three streams of literature to unsettle the ‘taint’ of breastfeeding. We first theorise breastfeeding as an act of femininity where women perform gender tro…
The worldwide burden of HIV in transgender individuals
Introduction Transgender individuals are at risk for HIV. HIV risks are dynamic and there have been substantial changes in HIV prevention (e.g., pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP]). It is thus time to revisit HIV prevalence and burden among transgender individuals. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was thus to examine worldwide prevalence and burden of HIV over the course of the epidemic among trans feminine and trans masculi…
Understanding and addressing stigma through qualitative research
Stigmatization is a socially and culturally constructed process, occurring in social interactions, whereby a person is labeled as different and then devalued, resulting in status loss and discrimination. In this article, we present four key arguments as to why qualitative research is imperative to understanding and changing stigma: (a) Stigmatization is complex and qualitative research is well-suited for exploring complex phenomenon; (b) Qualitat…
PrEP Use in Times of Covid-19 in the Netherlands
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV care and prevention efforts have been disrupted. We investigated pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use and testing behaviors among MSM in the Netherlands, and the factors that influenced testing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort of 766 MSM, established in 2017, was asked in August 2020 to report on their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic via an online survey. Participants (n = 319) rep…
Perspectives on mental health difficulties amongst second‐generation Chinese individuals in Germany
Migration demands may put Chinese people living abroad at higher risk for mental health difficulties. However, mental illness is stigmatised and often neglected. The aim of this study was to investigate mental illness stigma endorsement amongst second‐generation Chinese individuals in Germany and explore the role of acculturation and stigma on mental health service‐seeking behaviours. In semi‐structured interviews with 23 second‐generation Chines…
A part of being a woman, really”
This research extends understandings of women's lived experiences of menopause at work, as embodied complex gendered aging. Menopause as a type of “dirty” femininity and femme performance is theorized to elucidate both the stigmatizing effects of menopause at work and the opportunity to reclaim femininity in‐and‐for itself. This theory is illustrated through the accounts of women experiencing menopause at work. Menopause at work is problematized,…
Correlates of hepatitis B testing in Ghana
Hepatitis B testing is the gateway for prevention and care. However, previous studies document low hepatitis B testing uptake in sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated knowledge, stigma endorsement and knowing someone with hepatitis B as correlates of hepatitis B testing behaviours among people in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 971 participants (Greater Accra = 503, and Northern reg…
Intervention mapping as a guide to developing, implementing, and evaluating stigma reduction interventions
Stigmatization is a complex and deeply ingrained process, not easily amenable to change. The field of systematic behavior change can offer guidance for the improvement of stigma reduction efforts. In this article, we describe Intervention Mapping as a relevant approach for designing stigma reduction interventions. We demonstrate that, for stigma reduction to be effective, a number of actions are essential. We must (1) ascertain, at various socioe…
I only wanted one thing and that was to be who I am now”
Developing vocational identity as a young adult is a complex feat and may be even more so for transgender people, who have to navigate their professional selves in a largely cisgender and heteronormative world that minoritizes them. This qualitative study explores how transgender youths develop a vocational identity. Through 10 in‐depth interviews in the Netherlands and Belgium, we found that participants had to negotiate favoring education (at t…
A randomized controlled trial investigating two protective filtering strategies to mitigate the effects of beauty-ideal media imagery on women's body image
Recent research has shown that women with a positive body image engage in a process called protective filtering—whereby they ‘filter in’ information that can promote and protect their positive body image, and ‘filter out’ information that could be harmful. In this study, we investigated two protective filtering strategies and whether they could mitigate the effects of beauty-ideal media imagery (one particularly pervasive body-image ‘threat’) on …
Engagement of HIV-negative MSM and partners of people with HIV in HIV cure (research)
As the prospect of an HIV cure is gaining prominence, engaging key populations affected by an HIV cure becomes essential. This study examined the engagement of HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) and/or partners of people with HIV (PHIV) in the Netherlands. Interviews were conducted with 19 MSM not in relationships with a partner with HIV and 16 partners of PHIV and were thematically analyzed. Perspectives on the importance of an HIV cur…
Determinants of HIV Testing Among Migrant Men Who Have Sex With Men from Sub-Saharan Africa and Other Regions Residing in 10 European Countries
Migrant men who have sex with men (mMSM) from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and other regions outside Europe are highly vulnerable to HIV. However, research on the determinants of HIV testing among mMSM from SSA, and how these differ across the categories of mMSM living in Europe, is limited. Using data from the European MSM Internet Survey (EMIS-2017), we assessed HIV testing prevalence and recency in mMSM from SSA and other mMSM residing in ten Euro…
Unmasking Individual and Institutional HIV Stigma in Hospitals
People with HIV continue to experience HIV stigma. Quantitative data on HIV stigma perpetrated by healthcare providers of hospitals providing HIV care in high-income countries are limited. The aim of this study is to investigate factors associated with HIV stigma in Dutch healthcare settings from the healthcare providers' perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional study using the questionnaire 'Measuring HIV Stigma and Discrimination Among Healt…
The relationships of sexually harassing behaviors to organizational context factors and working men's dark personality traits
This research examined the roles of organization contexts factors and dark personality traits in men's ( N = 600) self‐reports of sexually harassing behaviors toward women in the workplace. Four organization context factors (a permissive climate, a masculinized job/gender context, male/female contact, and Masculinity Contest Culture [MCC] Norms) and four dark personality traits (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism) were examined…
How Closing a Street Sex Work Zone Impacts Sex Workers’ Vulnerability
Psychology (22 works) · Medicine (19 works) · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions (15 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk (11 works) · Psychiatry (11 works) · Social Psychology (11 works) · Family medicine (10 works) · Psychological intervention (10 works) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (9 works)