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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 wellbeing. 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

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There is increasing appreciation that group memberships can have both beneficial and damaging impacts on health. In collaboration with Nepal Leprosy Trust (NLT), this longitudinal study explores a group-based approach to stigma reduction among people affected by leprosy in rural Nepal (N = 71)-a hard to reach and underrepresented non-WEIRD population. Informed by the 'social cure' literature, and the progressive model of self-stigma, we use a longitudinal design. We found that a sense of belonging to a self-help group can facilitate education in terms of health literacy, and over time these two factors also have impacts on participants stigma. Specifically, self-help group belonging predicted improvements in health literacy, leading to reduced endorsement of negative stereotypes and thus less stigma-related harm among people affected by leprosy. The study offers promising evidence that group-based interventions, which support health education, can reduce the harmful impact of stigma in very challenging contexts.