RESIDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD THOSE WHO MISUSE DRUGS ON THREE ATTITUDINAL SCALES

ABSTRACT Objective: to examine patterns in attitudes toward drug users among residents in a community of Kingston, Jamaica. Method: cross-sectional study; sample size was 121 residents. Results: alcohol and marijuana showed a strong positive relationship on the personal contact attitudinal scale with r (119)=.53, p<.01. Respondents’ attitudes on the judgement scale for crack and cocaine were the strongest among all the drugs with r (119)=.84, p<.01, reflective of a very strong positive relationship. Equally important too, respondents’ attitudes on the social support scale toward those who misuse crack and cocaine were very strongly correlated with r (119)=.88, p<.01. Residents displayed positive attitudes toward those who misuse alcohol and marijuana. Conclusion: the majority of respondents were ambivalent toward those who misuse cocaine and crack. Negative attitudes were highest among residents toward those who misuse cocaine. This study found that the differences in mean between males and females attitudes on the personal contact scale for alcohol and marijuana were statistically significant at 0.05 level. Our findings may be used to inform further research and ultimately lead to policy interventions.

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What Do Non-Psychiatric Doctors of Andhra Pradesh Think about Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Medications and Mental Illness? A Cross-Sectional Study

Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare ◽

10.18410/jebmh/2021/330 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (22) ◽

pp. 1746-1751

Author(s):

Ganga Raju Godasi ◽

Raj Kiran Donthu ◽

Abdul Salaam Mohammed ◽

Ravi Shankar Pasam ◽

Raja Anirudh Yalamanchili

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Andhra Pradesh ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Curriculum Changes ◽

Positive Side ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Academic Settings ◽

Changing Trend

BACKGROUND Mental and behavioural disorders are prevalent in all societies. The stigma and poor attitude towards mental illness and those with mental illness is well known. Similarly, there also exists poor opinions about psychiatrists and psychiatric medications among people. Non psychiatric doctors act as a bridge between the psychiatrists and mentally ill people. This study was conducted to evaluate the attitudes of non-psychiatric doctors towards psychiatrists, psychiatric medications, and mental illness. METHODS The study design was cross sectional, conducted in a town of Andhra Pradesh. A structured proforma was used to capture the sociodemographic details and to measure attitudes towards psychiatrists and psychiatric medications. We used a questionnaire used by Zieger et al. Similarly, to measure the attitudes towards mental illness, belief towards mental illness (BTMI) used by Hirai and Clum was used. The data was analysed using R language, and results obtained were tabulated and discussed. Data was analysed using non parametric tests. RESULTS There were no significant negative attitudes of non-psychiatrists towards psychiatrists and mental illness. But we found significant negative attitudes expressed by medical specialists (P = 0.035) and those in academic settings (P = 0.020) towards psychiatric medications. On comparing the other demographic details there were no significant negative attitudes towards psychiatric medications. CONCLUSIONS Previous studies have found negative attitudes among non-psychiatrists towards psychiatry, psychiatrists and mental illness. But our study found that there are positive attitudes expressed by non-psychiatric doctors towards psychiatrists and mental illness which is a good sign. We believe this is a changing trend towards positive side when compared to past studies. Future studies should be longitudinal and to keep in focus the new curriculum changes. KEYWORDS Attitudes of Health Personnel, Psychiatry, Mental Disorders

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Medical Students’ Attitudes Toward Communication Skills Learning in Chitwan Medical College, Nepal

Journal of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences ◽

10.3126/jbpkihs.v3i1.30333 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 96-104

Author(s):

Suneel Piryani ◽

Rano Mal Piryani ◽

Gopendra Prasad Deo

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Medical College ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Nas Score ◽

Skills Learning

Introduction: Medical students’ attitude towards communication skills is crucial for curriculum planners, teachers and health professionals. Chitwan Medical College (CMC) is a private medical school admitting students mainly from the Nepal. Objective: To assess the attitudes of medical students towards learning communication skills. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among third and fifth year medical (MBBS) undergraduates at Chitwan Medical College (CMC), Nepal in April 2018 using the 26-itemCommunication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) developed by Rees, Sheard, and Davies. Participants ‘age, sex, year of study, nationality, religion, relationship status, the occupation of father and mother, place of residence of a family, were noted. The CSAS scores were computed. Student’s t-test and ANOVA test were used to compare the scores among subgroups of participants. Results: The mean positive attitudes scale (PAS), negative attitudes scale (NAS) and overall CSAS scores were 51.77  5.21, 35.68  4.43, and 83.97  5.77 respectively. PAS score was statistically significantly higher among the respondents whose mothers were not in the health-related profession. Whereas NAS score was statistically significantly lower among females, self-rated outstanding students, and good self-reported written communication skills. Conclusion: Medical undergraduates had strong positive attitudes towards learning communication skills, but negative attitudes were also noted. Hence, faculty members need to change these attitudes through improving teaching and assessment strategies.

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Attitude towards Mental Illness among Secondary School Students in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Psychiatry Journal ◽

10.1155/2018/4578721 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Eyasu H. Tesfamariam ◽

Medhane M. Tekie ◽

Amos Y. Tesfa ◽

Dawit H. Hadgu ◽

Eyob A. Awalom ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Secondary School ◽

Mentally Ill ◽

Educational Level ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

School Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

The Mean

Secondary School students (SSs) are important members of the community; hence their attitude towards mental illness can be highly influential. Mentally ill individuals are not only suffering from the illness but also suffering from the stigmatizing attitude generated by the community. The objectives of this study were to determine attitude of SSs towards mental illness and its associated factors. A cross-sectional study design employing stratified random sampling was applied to select a sample of 402 students. Data was obtained using a self-administered Belief towards Mental Illness (BMI) questionnaire. Independent sample t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to determine possible differences in scores of attitude. From a total of 21 BMI scale items, positive attitudes were found in eight items and negative attitudes were found in the remaining thirteen. The mean score of the full BMI scale was 2.47 (95% CI: 2.41, 2.54). The mean (95% CI) scores of dangerousness, poor social relations and incurability, and shame subscales were 2.68 (2.60, 2.76), 2.55 (2.48, 2.62), and 1.22 (1.09, 1.34), respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between attitude scores and the average mark of students (r = -0.257, p<0.0001). Moreover, significant differences in attitude scores were observed between students with a relative of mental illness and those without such a relative (p=0.004). There was an increasing trend of positive attitudes with increased educational level among 9th, 10th, and 11th graders (p-trend<0.0001) and with an increase in the educational level of the students father (p-trend=0.028). However, no significant difference in attitude score was found across categories of sex, religion, living condition of father, presence of a mentally ill neighbor, educational level of mother, or ethnicity. In conclusion, considerable numbers of SSs have negative attitudes towards mental illness. Implementation of programs that enhance positive attitudes towards mentally ill individuals is recommended.

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Attitudes towards pharmacotherapy in late-life bipolar disorder

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610215002380 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (6) ◽

pp. 945-950 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Soham Rej ◽

Josien Schuurmans ◽

Dominique Elie ◽

Max L. Stek ◽

Kenneth Shulman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Adverse Effects ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Attitude Inventory ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Bipolar Patients ◽

Drug Attitude Inventory

ABSTRACTBackground:Lithium remains a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder, but clinicians have considerable concern over potential adverse effects, especially in older adults. Older patients’ attitude towards lithium has not been investigated, even though negative attitudes are closely associated with reduced adherence. We examine the attitude towards lithium pharmacotherapy in older adults with bipolar disorder.Methods:In a cross-sectional study of 78 patients aged >60 years with bipolar disorder, the association between lithium use and attitudes towards psychotropic pharmacotherapy was assessed using the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10), including multivariate analyses.Results:Compared to patients using alternative psychopharmacological treatments (n =30), lithium users (n=48) showed higher self-reported contentedness, subjective somatic health, and social functioning scores. Although 58.7% of lithium users reported severe adverse effects, lithium users had more positive attitudes towards psychotropic pharmacotherapy compared to non-users (DAI-10 mean score 6.0 vs. 3.9, p =0.01), and this effect was independent of potential confounders.Conclusions:Older bipolar patients using lithium have a more positive attitude towards psychotropic pharmacotherapy, despite high rates of adverse effects. Future longitudinal studies could investigate whether positive medication attitudes lead to improved treatment adherence and reduced bipolar disorder relapse in older lithium users.

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Public Awareness Toward Coronavirus Disease-2019

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1010539520949421 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (6-7) ◽

pp. 354-356

Author(s):

Izzeddin A. Bdair ◽

Mohammad N. Alshloul ◽

Gladys L. Maribbay

Keyword(s):

Public Awareness ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Effective Measure ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Global Issue ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Background The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has become a global issue of concern. Since its occurrence, about 18 million cases have been reported globally and about 280 000 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the general population toward COVID-19. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted. A questionnaire was built by the researchers that was composed of demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices sections. Results The sample was composed of 575 participants. The mean scores of knowledge, attitudes, and practices were 16.48 ± 2.90, 10.01 ± 2.18, and 8.91 ± 1.91, respectively. The Ministry of Health constitutes the main source of participants’ information. Conclusion The findings showed that participants have good knowledge, positive attitudes, and satisfactory practices toward COVID-19. Yet, areas of low knowledge and negative attitudes were noticed. However, further studies are recommended to design an effective measure to control the disease.

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Attitudes toward Menopause in HIV-Infected Cambodian Women

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9060677 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 677

Author(s):

Roshna Thapa ◽

Youngran Yang

Keyword(s):

Premenopausal Women ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitude Score ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Perceived Severity ◽

Women Living With Hiv ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Living With Hiv

(1) Background: Attitudes toward menopause are believed to play a potential role in the experience of menopause, including its perceived severity. However, the studies available on the perspectives of women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on menopause in Cambodia are very limited. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes toward menopause of Cambodian women living with HIV. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 189 women using a questionnaire titled Attitude toward Menopause Scale and socio-demographics. (3) Results: The study analysis showed that the participants had slightly negative attitudes toward menopause with the mean attitude score of 86.81 ± 10.79 (Range 35–140). Postmenopausal women displayed more positive attitudes than premenopausal women. Older age, higher education, and a non-drinking habit were independently associated with a positive attitude toward menopause. (4) Conclusion: The results suggest the need for a multidisciplinary team of health care experts that would address the special needs of this population marked by the menopausal transition.

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Description of Knowledge and Attitude of Prospective Hajj Pilgrims KBIH Mandiri 2019 in Malang City About Hypertension

Journal of Islamic Pharmacy ◽

10.18860/jip.v4i2.8083 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Riskiyah Riskiyah

Keyword(s):

Mortality Rates ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Good Knowledge ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Knowledge And Attitudes ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Knowledge And Attitude ◽

Hypertension Knowledge

ABSTRACTHypertension is one of the diseases that can cause people’s death and it usually does not give any symptoms. Hypertension often occurs to the pilgrims. Knowledge and proper attitudes about hypertension of prospective pilgrims from Indonesia, especially in Malang city (East Java), are expected to reduce morbidity and mortality rates because they can manage their illness, properly. The purpose of this study is to describe the level of hypertension-related knowledge and attitudes of prospective pilgrims from KBHI 2019. The method used in this study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. 48 participants have participated in this study. They are the 2019 pilgrims from Indonesia. The results showed that 18 people (38%) had good knowledge about hypertension, 17 people (35%) are intermediately educated and 13 people (27 %) are lack of knowledge. Furthermore, this study has indicated that 25 people (52%) have positive attitudes and 23 people (48%) have negative attitudes about hypertension. This study concluded that in the majority, the 2019 prospective pilgrims from Malang have good knowledge and acceptable attitudes about hypertension.Keywords: Hajj pilgrims, hypertension, knowledge, attitude

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URBAN RESIDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH DRUG ABUSE IN FIVE DISTRICTS OF CONCEPCION COMMUNE, CHILE

Texto & Contexto - Enfermagem ◽

10.1590/1980-265x-tce-cicad-6-20 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (spe) ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Jara-Concha ◽

Francisco Cumsille

Keyword(s):

Drug Abuse ◽

Personal Experience ◽

Female Gender ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Personal Contact ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Drug Type ◽

Middle Aged Adults

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the attitudes of residents in an urban commune of Concepción, Chile towards people with drug abuse according to drug type, personal experience and socio-demographic variables. Method: descriptive and cross-sectional study that examines the attitude of 121 people of five census districts of commune of Concepción, Chile, regarding who has abuse of four types of drugs: alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and base paste, and its relation with socio-demographic variables, personal experience, drug type, using the Multidimensional Inventory of Attitudes. Results: ambivalent attitudes are observed towards those who abuses of alcohol and marijuana; on the other hand, attitude is negative towards those who abuse of cocaine and base paste. Female gender and religiosity were significantly associated with negative attitudes and young adults presented more ambivalent and less negative attitudes than middle-aged adults and older did. Personal experience is significantly related only if people that abuse of marijuana and cocaine are known. Conclusion: it is concluded that ambivalent and negative attitudes prevail towards people who abuse of drugs, what constitutes an obstacle to access treatment and social integration. It is necessary to keep investigating about attitudes, social distance and personal contact in order to elaborate strategies that allow to address stigma and discrimination towards those who present drug abuse in Chile

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Evaluation of medical interns' attitudes towards relevant aspects of medical practice

Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira ◽

10.1590/1806-9282.63.06.492 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 63 (6) ◽

pp. 492-499 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Áquila Talita Lima Santana Alves ◽

Fernando Vinicius Alves ◽

Enaldo Vieira Melo ◽

Edméa Fontes de Oliva-Costa

Keyword(s):

Medical Practice ◽

Medical Training ◽

School Curriculum ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Attitude Scale ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Health Politics ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

The Moment

Summary Introduction: In traditional medical school curriculum, sixth-year is the moment in which students experience medical practice more intensively. Attitudes can be considered predictors of behaviors and actions. Evaluating them contributes to improve medical training. Objective: To evaluate attitudes during medical internship considering medical practice and associated factors in a Brazilian public university. Method: Cross-sectional study that included 69 students, based on a structured questionnaire and an attitude scale (Colares, 2002). We used descriptive statistics, with classification of the attitude tendency, clusters analysis and F-statistics. Results: The average age of the participants was 25.1±1.9, and 56.5% of them were male. Students presented positive attitudes to emotional aspects in organic diseases, primary health care, the medical contribution to the scientific advancement of medicine, and other aspects of medical activity and health politics; there were conflicting attitudes concerning mental illness and negative attitudes concerning death. Conclusion: Results show the need for interventions in order to reduce the identified conflicting and negative attitudes.

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assessing knowledge, attitude and practices of miners and post-occupational miners towards pneumoconiosis in Wusakile Township, Kitwe, Zambia:cross sectional study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.16851 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Banda

Keyword(s):

Negative Attitude ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dust Exposure ◽

P Value ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Negative Attitudes ◽

Poor Knowledge ◽

Mining Areas

BACKGROUND Occupational conditions are deadly health hazards especially where dust exposure is inevitable causing chronic disabilities, impaired respiratory function and ultimately leading to death if no intensive measures are put in place. Unhealthy practices and negative attitudes rise in the number of cases of pneumoconiosis due to poor health education and awareness strategies. Pneumoconiosis is not only a health problem but also a social and economic burden on the livelihood of people living in mining areas around the globe. OBJECTIVE to assess knowledge, attitude and practices of miners and post-occupational miners towards pneumoconiosis in Wusakile Township, Kitwe, Zambia. METHODS A cross-sectional study was employed to conduct a research in Wusakile Township and a questionnaire was customized in order to syphon data relevant to the study as well to be brief. The study was conducted among 73 participants who were randomly selected among miners and post-occupational miners and all satisfied the inclusion criteria. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data. The data was entered and analysed using IBM SPSS software version 23. RESULTS Among 73 participants interviewed, 33.99% of participants had poor knowledge on the complications of pneumoconiosis. However, despite this poor knowledge, all participants had an idea about pneumoconiosis particularly silicosis. 13.70% of the respondents had bad practices towards pneumoconiosis while 86.30% had some good practices towards pneumoconiosis. Of the total participants, 19.18% of the participants had a negative attitude towards pneumoconiosis. Correlation between the level of education and practices of participants using Pearson Chi-Square, a p value of 0.021 (significant) was found ruling out the null hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS Information about pneumoconiosis and awareness programs towards pneumoconiosis are not widely disseminated among miners and post-occupational miners. There is still a significant number of participants who need to be educated more about pneumoconiosis and its complications so that attitude and practices are improved and also promote full community participation by involving competent health professionals to help in implementing preventive measures.

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