IHI Open School Recover Hope Campaign

Change the Narrative Pledge

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI's) Open School Recover Hope campaign aims to improve the lives of 50,000 people living with substance use disorders around the world by April 2020. Our network of change agents will act together to promote awareness, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders.

We believe that the first step in this journey is to change the narrative: to recognize substance use disorder as a chronic medical condition — not a moral failing — and to see people with substance use disorders as deserving of empathy, respect, and high-quality treatment.

Stop stigma and take a stand for person-first, recovery-focused language:

Instead of using this stigmatizing language:

Drug user/Abuser, Alcoholic/Drunk, Junkie, Addict, Drug Habit, Abuse, Problem, Clean versus Dirty, Relapse, Substitution or Replacement Therapy

I pledge to use this language instead:

Person with a substance use disorder, Substance use disorder, Use/Misuse, Risky/Unhealthy/Heavy use, Person in recovery, Abstinent, Not drinking or using drugs, Recurrence, Return to use, Positive or negative (referring to toxicology results), Treatment or medication for substance use disorder                                                       View in Portuguese — View in Spanish
                                                                                                                                                Ver em português — Ver en español

Complete the form below to sign our pledge today.