scholarly journals Health Professionals’ Stigma towards the Psychiatric Ill in Nigeria

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chukwuemeka Michael Ubaka ◽  
Chioma Mirrian Chikezie ◽  
Kosisochi Chinwendu Amorha ◽  
Chinwe Victoria Ukwe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Stigmatizing Attitudes ◽  
Comparative Survey

BACKGROUND: Stigma affects the quality of life of the mentallyill, and health professionals are considered to be involved in possessing negative attitudes towards them. We evaluated the  prevalence of stigmatization among different health professionals in Nigerian hospitals.METHODS: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional and comparative survey assessing attitudinal views of health professionals (doctors, pharmacists, and nurses) regarding mental illness in two hospitals in Eastern Nigeria. The survey utilized the 40-item Community Attitude to Mental Illness, CAMI-2 questionnaire. The prevalence and the factors that contribute to negative attitudes among this cohort were assessed. Statistical analysis using T-tests, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation were conducted.RESULTS: Attitudes to all the four constructs of the CAMI-2 werenon-stigmatizing. Stigmatizing attitudes were significantly higheramong pharmacists, doctors and then nurses (p<0.006). Health professionals who did not have contact with the mentally ill (p<0.0001), who were males (p=0.008) and had lower years of working experience (p=0.031) expressed significantly higher stigmatizing attitudes towards the mentally ill.Conclusions: Nigerian health professionals were largely non-stigmatizingtowards the mentally ill. However, being a pharmacist, of male gender, and working in a non-psychiatric hospital were associated with stigmatizing attitudes when they exist.KEYWORDS: Mental illness; Stigma; Health Professionals;Survey

scholarly journals Attitudes toward mentally ill patients: a comparison between Romanian and International Medical Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-406
Author(s):  
Codruta Alina Popescu ◽  
Anca Dana Buzoianu ◽  
Soimita Mihaela Suciu ◽  
Sebastian Mihai Armean
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Future Health ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Stigmatizing Attitudes

Background. Stigmatizing attitudes to mental illness, and especially schizophrenia, are not limited to the general population but are also common among health professionals. Health professionals are in a position to model health related attitudes both in the general public and patients. Medical students are an interesting group to focus upon, since they are future health professionals and correcting stigmatizing attitudes is still possible during their educational curriculum.Methods. This study investigated the attitude toward mental illness in medical students at the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy. We surveyed first year students, since they have not yet received specific classes or internships in psychiatry; 322 students from the Romanian and English sections participated, representing a response rate of 94.7%. The questionnaire consisted of the Romanian and English versions of Link's Social Distance Scale towards people with mental illness scale.Results. Overall, medical students had a relatively negative attitude towards people with mental illness, with moderate social distance and stereotypical attitudes. The level of personal contact with people with mental illness was correlated with positive attitudes. International students had scored lower then Romanian students on social distance toward mentally ill patients.Conclusions. Medical education can play an important role in the attitudes of students toward mental illness. Medical students have stigmatizing attitudes about mentally ill patients. Personal contact with people suffering from mental illness might contribute to a positive attitude from the medical students toward mentally ill patients.

scholarly journals Stigma Attitudes Towards People with Mental Illness among Professionals Working in a Psychiatric Hospital

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Silva ◽  
Sandra Nascimento ◽  
Tiago Pereira ◽  
Beatriz Lourenço ◽  
Miguel Nascimento ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Hospital ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Stigmatizing Attitudes

Introduction: Mental illness stigma studies demonstrate the presence of stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness both by the public and health professionals. This study aimed to analyze the attitudes of professionals working at a Portuguese psychiatric hospital towards people with mental illness. Material and Methods: A cross‑sectional observational study was conducted to examine the attitudes of professionals through application of Mental Illness Clinician Attitude Scale (MICA) and collection of sociodemographic data. Results: Scores of MICA questionnaire were significantly lower than the cut‑off point for negative attitude in general and across professional categories suggesting that overall professionals seem to manifest a positive attitude towards people with mental illness. There was a trend of decrease in MICA scores throughout increasing years of professional experience although not statistically significant. Conclusion: Our results do not contradict the need to continue fighting stigma, but instead to better evaluate how these attitudes translate into practice, by including behavioral outcomes in future research.

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

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
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.

EPA guidance on how to improve the image of psychiatry and of the psychiatrist

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bhugra ◽  
N. Sartorius ◽  
A. Fiorillo ◽  
S. Evans-Lacko ◽  
A. Ventriglio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media

AbstractStigma against mental illness and the mentally ill is well known. However, stigma against psychiatrists and mental health professionals is known but not discussed widely. Public attitudes and also those of other professionals affect recruitment into psychiatry and mental health services. The reasons for this discriminatory attitude are many and often not dissimilar to those held against mentally ill individuals. In this Guidance paper we present some of the factors affecting the image of psychiatry and psychiatrists which is perceived by the public at large. We look at the portrayal of psychiatry, psychiatrists in the media and literature which may affect attitudes. We also explore potential causes and explanations and propose some strategies in dealing with negative attitudes. Reduction in negative attitudes will improve recruitment and retention in psychiatry. We recommend that national psychiatric societies and other stakeholders, including patients, their families and carers, have a major and significant role to play in dealing with stigma, discrimination and prejudice against psychiatry and psychiatrists.

scholarly journals Measuring Explicit Prejudice and Transphobia in Nursing Students and Professionals

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-55
Author(s):  
Jesús Manuel García-Acosta ◽  
María Elisa Castro-Peraza ◽  
Lilisbeth Perestelo-Pérez ◽  
Amado Rivero-Santana ◽  
Ángeles Arias-Rodríguez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Trans People ◽  
Explicit Prejudice

Trans* people frequently report attitudes of prejudice/transphobia in health professionals. Conversely, health professionals indicate the lack of adequate training to care for these people and its impact on the quality of care provided. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the explicit prejudices/transphobia of health students and professionals and compare them with the general population in Tenerife. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with the Genderism and Transphobia Scale (GTS) and the Negative Attitude towards Trans* people Scale (EANT) with a total of 602 participants. Results: We found a low mean level of explicit prejudice/transphobia, with little/no differences between occupation groups. Explicit transphobia was correlated with being a man, less educated, and heterosexual, and not personally knowing a trans* person. Men and women were less transphobic about trans* people whose identities coincided with their own. Conclusion: All participants showed a low mean level of explicit transphobia. This result is not incompatible with unconscious prejudice, which may translate to discriminatory behaviors. Interventions to change negative attitudes are still needed, since even a small percentage of transphobic health professionals could exert a considerable negative impact on health care. In professionals without transphobic attitudes, the barriers identified by trans* people might be a problem due to the lack of specific training.

scholarly journals Individuals with Mental Illness and Stigma Reduction: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Group of College Students

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Aflakseir ◽  
Muhammad Rasooli Esini ◽  
Muhammad Goodarzi ◽  
Javad Molazadeh
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Stigma Reduction ◽  
People With Mental Illness ◽  
Stigmatizing Attitudes

Objective: Stigma has a significant impact on the life of individuals with mental illness. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of contact with the mentally ill with stigmatizing attitudes in a group of college students. Method: A total of 287 college students participated in this study. The participants were recruited from Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences using convenience sampling and completed the research measures including the Level of Familiarity (LOF) and the Attribution questionnaires (AQ). The data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The descriptive findings of this study showed that the participants’ highest score on stigmatizing attitudes was related to pity and the least score was related to anger towards people with mental illness. Furthermore, the regression analysis results indicated that personal contact, family contact, and work contact with individuals with mental illness significantly predicted stigma reduction, while other types of contacts with the mentally ill, such as friend contact, social contact, and media contact, did not significantly predict stigma reduction. Conclusion: This study highlighted the significant role of having contact with the mentally ill in reducing stigmatizing attitudes towards them.

scholarly journals A multicentric study on stigma towards people with mental illness in health sciences students

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Masedo ◽  
Pamela Grandón ◽  
Sandra Saldivia ◽  
Alexis Vielma-Aguilera ◽  
Elvis S. Castro-Alzate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Multicentric Study ◽  
People With Mental Illness

Abstract Background There is evidence of negative attitudes among health professionals towards people with mental illness but there is also a knowledge gap on what training must be given to these health professionals during their education. The purpose of this study is to compare the attitudes of students of health sciences: nursing, medical, occupational therapy, and psychology. Methods A comparative and cross-sectional study in which 927 final-year students from health sciences university programmes were evaluated using the Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes (both MICA-2 and MICA-4) scale. The sample was taken in six universities from Chile and Spain. Results We found consistent results indicating that stigma varies across university programmes. Medical and nursing students showed more negative attitudes than psychology and occupational therapy students in several stigma-related themes: recovery, dangerousness, uncomfortability, disclosure, and discriminatory behaviour. Conclusions Our study presents a relevant description of the attitudes of each university programme for education against stigma in the formative years. Results show that the biomedical understanding of mental disorders can have negative effects on attitudes, and that education based on the psychosocial model allows a more holistic view of the person over the diagnosis.

Menopause-Related Quality of Life in Chronically Mentally ILL Women

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Hatters Friedman ◽  
Martha Sajatovic ◽  
Isabel N. Schuermeyer ◽  
Roknedin Safavi ◽  
Robert W. Hays ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Major Depression ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
Related Quality

Objective: Menopause is an important life event that has not yet been well characterized among women with severe mental illness. Our goal was to evaluate menopause-related quality of life among severely mentally ill women. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional assessment of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, ages 45–55, diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or major depression, who were receiving inpatient or outpatient psychiatric care. Women were compared regarding menopausal symptoms and quality of life using the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Scale (MENQOL). Results: Women with severe mental illnesses who were peri- and post-menopausal experienced considerable vasomotor, physical, sexual, and psychosocial symptoms related to menopause. On seven of 29 MENQOL items, women with major depression reported problems significantly more often than women with other serious mental illnesses. Conclusions: This preliminary study indicates that psychiatrists and other physicians should consider the frequency and overlap of menopausal and psychiatric symptoms among women with serious mental illness in this age group.

scholarly journals Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions about Mental Illness in Ekom Iman Community in Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jombo, Henry Effiong ◽  
Alphonsus Udo Idung ◽  
Victory Edet Iyanam
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The South ◽  
Causal Belief ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Poor Knowledge ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Stigmatizing Attitudes

Knowledge and beliefs a community holds about mental illness, has remarkable impact on help seeking path to care and stigmatizing attitudes expressed towards the mentally ill. Aims: This study examines causal attributions, the perceptions and attitudes towards mental illness and the help seeking behaviour of a community in the south-south region of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is cross sectional descriptive study which was conducted among residents of Ekom Iman community in Akwa Ibom State in the South-South region of Nigeria between March, 2019 and July, 2019. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Causal belief, attitude toward mental illness and help seeking behaviour were assessed using a structured questionnaire.  Results: A total of 130 respondents participated in the study. The average age of respondents was 31.62±8.2 years, consisting of 64.4% males and 35.6% females. Majority, 74.6% had secondary education. Poor knowledge of mental illness and stigmatizing attitudes are common. Most of the respondents prefer to keep a high social distance from the mentally ill and are unwilling to maintain close social contacts with them expressed as refusal to share a room (74.7%), marry (92.5%), keeping friendship with them (66.4%). Many believe psychoactive substance abuse (86.2%), brain illnesses/trauma (55.4%) and supernatural factors (72.6%) are etiologic to mental illness. Most respondents considered faith healers (64.3%) and orthodox medical professionals (30.8%) as first choices of treatment and the options best able to treat them. Conclusion: Causal beliefs of mental illness affects help seeking behavior. Poor knowledge and exposure to mental illness was common. Attitudes towards mental illness were generally negative and stigmatizing. Multidisciplinary community interventions are required to ensure high social acceptance and preference for orthodox professional treatment of mental illness.

Socio Demographic and Clinical Profile of Indoor Female Patients of RINPAS

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Rajni Suri ◽  
Anshu Suri ◽  
Neelam Kumari ◽  
Amool R. Singh ◽  
Manisha Kiran
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional

The role of women is very crucial in our society. She cares for her parents, partner, children and other relatives. She performs all types of duties in family and also in the society without any expectations. Because of playing many roles, women often face many challenges in their life including both physical and mental. Mental health problems affect women and men equally, but some problems are more common among women including both physical and mental health problems. Aim of the study - The present study is aimed to describe and compare the clinical and socio-demographic correlates of female mentally ill patients. Methods and Materials: The study includes 180 female mentally ill patients based on cross sectional design and the sample for the study was drawn purposively. A semi structured socio-demographic data sheet was prepared to collect relevant information as per the need of the study. Result: The present study reveals that the socio-demographic factors contribute a vital role in mental illness. Findings also showed that majority of patients had mental problems in the age range of 20-30 have high rate. Illiterate and primary level of education and daily wage working women as well as low and middle socio-economic status women are more prone to have mental illness. Other factors like marital status, type of family and religion etc also important factors for mental illness. Keywords: Socio demographic profile, female, psychiatric patient

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