What about psychiatrists' attitude to mentally ill people?

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 423-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Lauber ◽  
Marion Anthony ◽  
Vladeta Ajdacic-Gross ◽  
Wulf Rössler

AbstractObjectiveFirstly, to assess and, secondly, to compare experts' and lay attitudes towards community psychiatry and the respective social distance towards mentally ill people.MethodComparison of two representative Swiss samples, one comprising of 90 psychiatrists, the other including 786 individuals of the general population.ResultsThe psychiatrists' attitude was significantly more positive than that of the general population although both samples have a positive attitude to community psychiatry. The statement that mental health facilities devalue a residential area has revealed most agreement. Psychiatrists and the public do not differ in their social distance to mentally ill people. Among both samples, the level of social distance increases the more the situation described implies ‘social closeness’.ConclusionThe strategy to use psychiatrists as role models or opinion leaders in anti-stigma campaigns cannot be realised without accompanying actions. Psychiatrists must be aware that their attitudes do not differ from the general public and, thus, they should improve their knowledge about stigma and discrimination towards people with mental illnesses.

Author(s):  
Eda Turanci

In today's world, the digital environment has an influence on consumers' lives, in terms of attitudes, preferences, habits, likes and dislikes, and purchasing practices. It is also observed that throughout history, a variety of professionals have been utilized to influence the public. To the group of individuals who lead as celebrities, role models, or opinion leaders in the digital age, “influencers” have been added in. This chapter aims to examine the relationship between influencers and consumption. As a result of the research, it was revealed that most of the shares/posts had the name of a brand or product, tagged brand, or used related hashtags to direct followers to consumption. The findings also show that despite the use of a large number of brand names, a very small number of these posts have the emphasis of sponsorship, advertising, or cooperation. Finally, it was also found that despite the high number of followers, the interaction rate is very low.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 295-299
Author(s):  
James R. Foster ◽  
Nicole B. Washington ◽  
Nancy C. Brahm

Purpose: To develop recommendations for healthcare professionals at risk for exposure to secondhand (SHS) and thirdhand smoke (THS) while providing home-based services to patients with severe mental illnesses (SMIs), such as schizophrenia. Summary: Healthcare professionals who provide services to those with SMIs have the potential to be exposed to SHS and THS. Smoking rates in persons diagnosed with schizophrenia are significantly higher compared to the general population (up to 90% versus approximately 30%). According to one study, only 31.5% of patients with SMIs are likely to have smoke-free homes. Currently there are no guidelines available for minimizing the effects of SHS and THS on healthcare professionals. Strategies for minimizing the effects are proposed. Conclusion: Literature dealing with the effects of SHS, potential occupational hazards of exposure, and the results of anti-public smoking laws to address the problem were reviewed. The health hazards of THS exposure are an emerging area. Data are limited on alternative strategies for healthcare professionals to minimize SHS and THS exposure. Suggestions to minimize exposure are provided.


Author(s):  
John W. Newcomer

In 2006, investigators compiled data from the public mental health systems of eight states in the USA and compared life expectancy for patients with a major mental illness with general population values. Focusing on states with outpatient as well as inpatient data, this study indicated that individuals with a major mental illness have a mean age at death that is 25–30 years earlier than that observed in the general population over the same years in the same states (1). In this study, ‘major mental illness’ included affective disorders such as major depression and bipolar disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorders. Importantly, these data indicated that the leading cause of death in the mentally ill is coronary heart disease (CHD) and when death due to stroke or cerebrovascular disease is included in a category of cardiovascular disease (CVD), they account for more than 35% of deaths in this population. Suicide, by contrast, was responsible for fewer than 5% of deaths overall. Such observations have led to growing clinical interest in the cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors that contribute to the major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with psychotic disease, as exemplified by schizophrenia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S740-S740
Author(s):  
J. Radović ◽  
I. Roncevic-Grzeta ◽  
J. Rebic

This paper reports the results of a medical research that measured prejudice and attitudes towards mentally ill people and towards the mental illness. Three groups of respondents were studied: medical students, psychology students and the general population. Medical students and psychology students represented a population that is educated in regards to mental illness, and the general population was not trained so much about mental illness. The hypothesis was that the respondents who have been working with mentally ill people and had lots of knowledge about mental illnesses were the persons with less prejudice towards people with mental illness. The main objective of research was to examine the differences in prejudice and attitudes between respondents who had experience and knowledge related to mental illness and people with mental illness compared to those without such knowledge and experience. Testing was conducted using an anonymous online survey consisting of thirteen questions. The research confirmed the hypothesis and it could be an incentive for education aimed at specific groups.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Angermeyer ◽  
H. Matschinger ◽  
A. Holzinger ◽  
M. G. Carta ◽  
G. Schomerus

Background.During the last two decades, the change from custodial care provided by large institutions to community-focused services made considerable progress in Germany. However, nothing is known about how this is reflected in the public's acceptance of community psychiatry services.Methods.The study is based on data from two population surveys among German citizens aged 18 years and over, living in the ‘old’ German States. The first was conducted in 1990 (n = 3067), the second in 2011 (n = 2416). With the help of identical questions, respondents’ attitudes towards psychiatric units at general hospitals and group homes for mentally ill people were assessed.Results.While the proportion of the public that explicitly welcomed establishing psychiatric units at general hospitals and opening group homes for mentally ill people decreased, the proportion of those who reacted with indifference increased. The proportion of the German population that explicitly rejected the implementation of these services remained unchanged.Conclusions.While community psychiatry services expanded considerably over the last few years, the public's attitude towards them has not changed substantially.


2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
L. Lee

Dr. C.K. Clarke (1857-1924) was one of Canada’s most prominent psychiatrists. He sought to improve the conditions of asylums, helped to legitimize psychiatry and established formal training for nurses. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Canada experienced a surge of immigration. Yet – as many historians have shown – a widespread anti-foreigner sentiment within the public remained. Along with many other members of the fledgling eugenics movement, Clarke believed that the proportion of “mental defectives” was higher in the immigrant population than in the Canadian population and campaigned to restrict immigration. He appealed to the government to track immigrants and deport them once they showed signs of mental illness. Clarke’s efforts lead to amendments to the Immigration Act in 1919, which authorized deportation of people who were not Canadian-born, regardless of how many years that had been in Canada. This change applied not only to the mentally ill but also to those who could no longer work due to injury and to those who did not follow social norms. Clarke is a fascinating example of how we judge historical figures. He lived in a time where what we now think of as xenophobia was a socially acceptable, even worthy attitude. As a leader in eugenics, therefore, he was a progressive. Other biographers have recognized Clarke’s racist opinions, some of whom justify them as keeping with the social values of his era. In further exploring Clarke’s interest in these issues, this paper relies on his personal scrapbooks held in the CAMH archives. These documents contain personal papers, poems and stories that proclaim his anti-Semitic and anti-foreigner views. Whether we allow his involvement in the eugenics movement to overshadow his accomplishments or ignore his racist leanings to celebrate his memory is the subject of ongoing debate. Dowbiggin IR. Keeping America Sane: Psychiatry and Eugenics in the United States and Canada 1880-1940. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1997. McLaren A. Our Own Master Race: Eugenics in Canada 1885-1945. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1990. Roberts B. Whence They Came: Deportation from Canada 1900-1935. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1988.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Barbett ◽  
Edward Stupple ◽  
Michael Sweet ◽  
Miles Richardson

The planet is facing an anthropogenic mass extinction of wildlife, which will have a grave impact on the environment and humans. Widespread human action is needed to minimize the negative impact of humans on biodiversity and support the restoration of wildlife. In order to find effective ways to promote pro-nature conservation behaviours to the general population, there is a need to provide a list of behaviours which will have worthwhile ecological impact and are worth encouraging. In a novel collaboration between psychologists and ecologists, 70 experts from practical and academic conservation backgrounds were asked to review and rate 48 conservation related behaviours. According to their judgement, this short paper presents a ranked list of pro-nature conservation behaviours for the public in the UK and similar landscapes. This includes behaviours people can engage in in their homes, their gardens, on their land, and in their roles as citizens.


Communicology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-88
Author(s):  
D.A. Kemenev

The article investigates the imageological aspect of mentor’s communicative competence in public service and reveals the communicative functions of mentor’s image in relation to the mentees. The author determines the communicative skills necessary for the mentor in all processes and stages of this personnel technology. Based on the analysis of scientific publications, the author discloses and justifies the role models of mentor’s behavior in relation to the mentees from the perspective of the mentor’s image, authority, and communicative competence. The author has conducted an expert survey among public servants, which allowed identify the main professional, business, moral, psychological, and integral qualities that are the most effectively developed by the public servant in the process of performing mentor’s functions. As a result, the author suggests a structural-logical model of the communicative competence of a mentor in the public service in the process of perceiving its communicative knowledge, skills, and competencies for achieving the effectiveness of mentoring.


Author(s):  
S. C. C. Oudejans ◽  
M. E. Spits ◽  
J. van Weeghel

Abstract Introduction Stigmatization impedes the social integration of persons recovering from mental illnesses. Little is known about characteristics of the stigmatized person that lessen or aggravate public stigma. Purpose This study investigates which characteristics of persons with mental illnesses (i.e. with a depression or a psychotic disorder) might increase or decrease the likelihood of public stigma. Methods Over 2,000 adults read one of sixteen vignettes describing a person with a depressive disorder or a psychotic disorder and answered a set of items measuring social distance. Results The person who was employed (vs. unemployed), or whose neighbors did not experience domestic noise disturbance (vs. disturbance) elicited significantly less social distance. Also persons with a depressive disorder elicited less social distance, vs. persons with a psychotic disorder. Conclusion Employment and good housing circumstances may destigmatize persons coping with mental illnesses. Mental health and social services should encourage paid employment, quality housing and other paths to community integration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 533-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Arvidsson ◽  
S. Hultsjö

AbstractPurposeHigher incidence of mental illnesses and less access to care is previously reported concerning migrants but few studies focus on the needs and care of migrant groups in psychiatry. The aim of this study was to compare differences in needs and care between migrant and nonmigrant groups of severely and persistently mentally ill (SMI) after the 1995 Swedish mental health care reform.MethodsIn a Swedish area, inventories were made in 2001 and 2006 of persons considered as SMI. These persons were interviewed and their needs were assessed. In a cross-sectional study in 2006, needs and care were compared between migrants and nonmigrants. In a longitudinal study, migrants and nonmigrants interviewed in both 2001 and 2006 were compared concerning the development of needs and care.ResultsThe needs of the migrant group were less taken care of. In 2006, there were more unmet needs in this group concerning accommodation, physical health, psychological distress, basic education and economy.ConclusionThe improvement of groups considered as SMI concerning functional disability and efforts of care found in the actual area did not seem to include the migrant group, at least not to the same degree.


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