Sample characteristics of study sample (N = 138).

Sickle cell disease (SCD), a chronic genetic disorder, is associated with severe pain, stigma, and psychological distress, particularly in low-resource settings like Ghana. In this study, we used convenient and purposive sampling to explore the role of self-compassion in relation to pain, stigma, specifically SCD-related stigma encompassing social exclusion, internalized stigma, disclosure concerns, anticipated discrimination, and psychological well-being among people living with SCD. We recruited 138 adults (46, [33.3%] males, 92, [66.7%] females; mean age = 30.99, SD = 8.44) with SCD from two Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) in Accra, Ghana. Self-compassion had significant negative correlations with pain (r = -.21, p