Leprosy is endemic in Nepal and disproportionately affects the most marginalized. Leprosy related stigma can be characterized as a social curse, because those affected are excluded from group life and social participation which has severe implications for psychological health. The Nepal Leprosy Trust run a community‐based self‐help group intervention that aims to develop a new empowered identity to re‐establish access to multiple group memberships' through social participation. In this applied cross‐sectional study, informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change, we assess this intervention. Participants (N = 98) were members of self‐help groups in 10 rural villages in Nepal, and completed measures of self‐help group identification, access to multiple groups, internalized stigma and well‐being. Mediation models indicated that self‐help group identification was indirectly linked to reduced stigma and increased well‐being through access to multiple groups. Supporting the Social Identity Model of Identity Change, we present novel evidence that group‐based interventions can offer new valued identities that link to social cure resources, even in the most adverse circumstances. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

中文翻译：

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从社会诅咒到社会治愈：尼泊尔麻风病患者的自助团体社区干预

麻风病在尼泊尔很流行，对边缘化程度最高的人群的影响最大。麻风病相关的污名可被描述为一种社会诅咒，因为受影响的人被排除在集体生活和社会参与之外，这对心理健康具有严重影响。尼泊尔麻风病基金会开展了一项基于社区的自助小组干预，旨在发展一种新的授权身份，以通过社会参与重新建立与多个小组成员的联系。在此应用横断面研究中，以“身份变化的社会身份模型”为依据，我们评估了这种干预措施。参加人数= 98）是尼泊尔10个乡村的自助小组的成员，并完成了自助小组识别，进入多个小组，内部污名化和福祉的措施。调解模型表明，自助小组的识别与减少污名和通过接触多个小组而增加的福祉间接相关。支持身份改变的社会身份模型，我们提供了新颖的证据，即使在最不利的情况下，基于群体的干预也可以提供与社会治愈资源相关的新的有价值的身份。请参阅补充材料部分以找到本文的社区和社会影响声明。