scholarly journals Attitudes of medical students towards psychiatry and mental illnesses: a cross-sectional study from Pakistan

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S303-S304
Author(s):  
Syed Muhammad Jawad Zaidi ◽  
Muhammad Hamza ◽  
Raja Adnan Ahmed ◽  
Mishal Fatima ◽  
Hassan Nadeem ◽  
...  

AimsThe increasing burden of mental disorders coupled with the social stigmatization in Pakistan is an immense barrier in combating the emerging mental health crisis. The low number of qualified psychiatrists and poor intake in post-graduate psychiatry training programs in the region further complicates the problem. Thus, our study aims to assess the attitudes of Pakistani medical students towards psychiatry. Furthermore, we also aim to evaluate how experience and different levels of exposure to psychiatry among students affect their attitudes towards psychiatry as a career choice.MethodThis cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey made on Google Forms. A total of 831 medical students studying across various private and public medical institutions of Pakistan responded to the survey. The questionnaire comprised of demographical details (gender, age, institution, and academic year) exposure to psychiatry, duration of psychiatry rotation, and personal experience with mental illness. The attitudes of medical students towards psychiatry were evaluated using the English version of the 30-item Attitudes Towards Psychiatry (ATP-30) scale. Chi-square test and multiple regression with backward method were used to analyze the data.ResultThe Cronbach's alpha value of the ATP-30 scale was 0.830. The participants in our study had a mean score of 107.6 ± 12 on ATP-30. Overall, most participants had a positive attitude towards psychiatry. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant model pertaining to predictors of attitude toward psychiatry (F (df) = 11.28 (830), P < 0.001). However, the predictors included in the model accounted for only 5.8% of the variation in ATP-30 scores. According to it, those students had a more positive attitude toward psychiatry who identified as female, older and having any sort of exposure toward psychiatric specialty, direct involvement in psychiatric patient care, and reporting personal experience of mental illnesses.ConclusionOur study showed that medical students had a positive attitude towards psychiatry but female medical students, students with previous exposure to psychiatry, and students with longer psychiatry rotations tend to view psychiatry more positively. The generally positive trend towards psychiatry in Pakistan indicates the need to sustain improvements through proactive measures. We recommend longer placements for medical students in mental health settings for at least 4 weeks or longer. Medical schools should also promote research, discussions, and seminars on different psychiatric illnesses in order to enhance awareness among the students.

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 832-840
Author(s):  
Katti Sathaporn ◽  
Jarurin Pitanupong

Objective: To determine the level of and factors associated with empathy among medical students.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed all first- to sixth-year medical students at the Facultyof Medicines, Prince of Songkla University, at the end of the 2020 academic year. The questionnaires consisted of:1) The personal and demographic information questionnaire, 2) The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire, and 3) ThaiMental Health Indicator-15. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and factors associated with empathylevel were assessed via chi-square and logistic regression analyses.Results: There were 1010 participants with response rate of 94%. Most of them were female (59%). More than half(54.9%) reported a high level of empathy. There was a statistically significant difference in empathy levels betweenpre-clinical and clinical medical students; in regards to empathy subgroups (P-value < 0.001). The assessment ofemotional states in others by demonstrating appropriate sensitivity behavior, altruism, and empathic respondingscores among the pre-clinical group were higher than those of the clinical group. Multivariate analysis indicatedthat female gender, pre-clinical training level, and minor specialty preference were factors associated with empathylevel. The protective factor that significantly improved the level of empathy was having fair to good mental health.Conclusion: More than half of the surveyed medical students reported a high level of empathy. The protective factorthat improved the level of empathy was good mental health. However, future qualitative methods, longitudinalsurveillance, or long-term follow-up designs are required to ensure the trustworthiness of these findings.


Author(s):  
T. Sarathkumar ◽  
K. Jayashree

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and awareness on pubertal menorrhagia among medical students. Design: It was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Thandalam. Methodology: The study was carried out on 129 students comprising of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th year M.B.B.S students. The students were given a pretested questionnaire and asked to fill up the questions. The responses were collected and analysed using appropriate statistical tools for parametric and non-parametric data with the help of SPSS for Windows version 22 software. Results: The knowledge of participants on pubertal menorrhagia was 58%. The participants that had a positive attitude concerning pubertal menorrhagia was 55% the awareness of participants on pubertal menorrhagia was 51% Conclusion: The study concluded that there is a definitive knowledge of pubertal menorrhagia among students.  the participants showed the palpable deficit of knowledge and awareness as well. To prevent such practices knowledge, awareness must spread among the students.


QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (10) ◽  
pp. 731-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q Li

Summary Background The 2019 coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) led out the mental health crisis. Aim To determine the psychological status and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) among general population (except confirmed and suspected cases, and close contacts) and their association with the coping strategy types during the COVID-19 outbreak. Design A cross-sectional study. Methods Participants were recruited from the community through snowball sampling with anonymous online questionnaires, using 28-item General Health Questionnaire, 22-item Impact of Events Scale-Revised and 28-item Brief Coping Inventory to measure their psychiatric disorders, PTSD level and coping strategies. Results Of the total 1109 participants, 42.65% and 67.09% self-reported psychiatric disorders and high PTSD level, respectively. Age, occupation and education level were significantly association with psychological status. The status of psychiatric disorders was also significantly related to high PTSD level. Using both emotion and problem coping was better for psychiatric status [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.54–0.98], and problem-focused coping was significantly associated with high PTSD level (aOR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.25–3.51). Conclusion Negative psychological outcomes were common among the general people during the COVID-19 outbreak, and the findings may provide references for intervention guidelines of mental health for the community population.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Chen ◽  
Yan Wang ◽  
Ting Yang ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Zhiling Sun

Abstract Then novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic was considered to be the worst and complex virus outbreak, which caused 56,985 deaths as of April 22, 2020 already. The epidemic infectious may cause mental health crisis. Meanwhile, little is known about the specific psychological status of the COVID-19 survivors and healthcare workers. This cross-sectional study surveyed the mental health among 20 COVID-19 survivors, 54 nurses, and 24 hygienists in Wuhan, China and analyze the possible impact factors using the Symptom Check List 90 - Revised (SCL90-R) questionnaire. 3 indices and 9 dimensions were compared among job, education level, gender, age, marriage classification. This study found that mental distress among participants was not very serious in general. The survivors presented a highest score, then the hygienists, and the lowest in nurses. Low-educated and women showed significant increase. No significant difference was noted in age and marriage classification. Our study indicated that the survivors need psychological support immediately. Meanwhile, healthcare workers warrant more attention, especially low-educated and women. Comprehensive emergency response plan was warranted.


2015 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 019-021
Author(s):  
Shwethashri R Permi ◽  
Rahul Bhandary ◽  
Biju Thomas

AbstractThe aim of the study is to estimate the knowledge, attitude and behaviour regarding oral health among para medical students Materials and method: A cross sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 150 para medical professionals in Mangalore. The health care professionals include from physiotherapy, nursing and medical lab technicians. They were asked to answer a questionnaire that contained 15 questions regarding knowledge and behaviour towards oral health. Results and conclusion: Majority of para medical students were practising a convincing oral hygiene methods they believed oral health play a role in general health had a positive attitude in educating their patients when required.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjab Adhikari ◽  
Aman Dutta ◽  
Supriya Sapkota ◽  
Abina Chapagain ◽  
Anurag Aryal ◽  
...  

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