scholarly journals Mental illness stigma: Strategies to address a barrier to care

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa M. Conklin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Early Identification ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Barrier To Care

Mental illness (MI) is extremely prevalent worldwide. Despite recent efforts to raise awareness through screening and early identification, MI stigma remains high and is recognized as a major barrier to recovery. Nurse practitioners play a key role in overcoming stigma to facilitate appropriate treatment and recovery. The various aspects of MI stigma, tools to measure stigma, and intervention strategies to decrease stigma among healthcare professionals and individuals suffering from MI are discussed. Disparities between women and men are also reviewed.

scholarly journals Exploring the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavioural Responses of Healthcare Students towards Mental Illnesses—A Qualitative Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Riffel ◽  
Shu-Ping Chen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Behavioural Responses

Background: The stigma of mental illness causes delays in seeking help, and often compromises victims’ therapeutic relationships with healthcare providers. The knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural responses of future healthcare professionals toward individuals with mental illnesses are explored here to suggest steps that will reduce mental illness stigma in healthcare providers. Methods: A generic qualitative approach—Qualitative Description—was used. Eighteen students from nine healthcare programs at a Canadian University participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Participants answered questions regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural responses towards individuals with mental illnesses. Thematic content analysis guided the data analysis. Results: Four main themes were constructed from the data: positive and negative general perceptions toward mental illness; contact experiences with mental illnesses; mental illness in a healthcare setting; and learning about mental illness in healthcare academia. Conclusions: Students showed well-rounded mental health knowledge and mostly positive behaviours toward individuals with mental illnesses. However, some students hold stigmatizing attitudes and do not feel prepared through their academic experiences to work with individuals with mental illnesses. Mental health education can reduce the stigma toward mental illness and improve the care delivered by healthcare professionals.

scholarly journals Family Support and Stigma among Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Nasim Jahan ◽  
Mohammad Muntasir Maruf ◽  
Bushra Sultana ◽  
Samira Humaira Habib ◽  
Muhammad Zillur Rahman Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Family Support ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospital ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Related Disorder

Background: Mental illness stigma continues to be a major barrier for individuals with mental illness.Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among the mentally ill patients attending Out Patient Department (OPD) in a tertiary care hospital of Dhaka city of Bangladesh, during the period from May 2013 to November 2013. The objective of the study was to assess the family support and stigma among the respondents. A total of 151 patients of 18 to 60 years attending in the OPD, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Dhaka were selected purposefully to conduct the study. An informed consent was taken from the patients or care givers. Information about socio-demographic and psychosocial data was collected using the questionnaire designed by the researcher based on Factors Influencing Neuroleptic Medication Taking Scale (FNIMTS). Diagnoses of mental illness were done according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) by psychiatrists.Results: The commonest diagnoses among the respondents were the schizophrenias (56.3%), bipolar mood disorders (23.8%) and substance related disorder (6.6%). Most were insightful into their mental illness (89.4%). Most of the respondents rated their perception of family support as good (66.2%). Most of the respondents believed that they would be treated differently if people knew they had a mental illness (57.6%) or on drugs for mental illness (54.3%). Among the presently employed respondents (21.85%) most (57.75%) were uncomfortable with the idea of telling employer about mental illness or being on drugs for it.Conclusion: A bridge for communication between people with mental illness, their families, and health care practitioners, may be a useful framework for guiding efforts to reduce stigma. Community-based participatory research principles and lived experiences are crucial elements in stigma reduction endeavors.Birdem Med J 2017; 7(2): 148-154

Fool’s Gold: Psychologists Using Disingenuous Reasoning to Mislead Legislatures into Granting Psychologists Prescriptive Authority

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-524
Author(s):  
Brent Pollitt
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Nurse Practitioners ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
American Psychological Association ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychotropic Medications ◽  
American Psychological ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Prescriptive Authority

Mental illness is a serious problem in the United States. Based on “current epidemiological estimates, at least one in five people has a diagnosable mental disorder during the course of a year.” Fortunately, many of these disorders respond positively to psychotropic medications. While psychiatrists write some of the prescriptions for psychotropic medications, primary care physicians write more of them. State legislatures, seeking to expand patient access to pharmacological treatment, granted physician assistants and nurse practitioners prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications. Over the past decade other groups have gained some form of prescriptive authority. Currently, psychologists comprise the primary group seeking prescriptive authority for psychotropic medications.The American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy (“ASAP”), a division of the American Psychological Association (“APA”), spearheads the drive for psychologists to gain prescriptive authority. The American Psychological Association offers five main reasons why legislatures should grant psychologists this privilege: 1) psychologists’ education and clinical training better qualify them to diagnose and treat mental illness in comparison with primary care physicians; 2) the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology Demonstration Project (“PDP”) demonstrated non-physician psychologists can prescribe psychotropic medications safely; 3) the recommended post-doctoral training requirements adequately prepare psychologists to prescribe safely psychotropic medications; 4) this privilege will increase availability of mental healthcare services, especially in rural areas; and 5) this privilege will result in an overall reduction in medical expenses, because patients will visit only one healthcare provider instead of two–one for psychotherapy and one for medication.

Mental Illness Stigma: Diagnostic Labels Influence Blame and Approach

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan A. Blenner ◽  
Kristin N. Anderson ◽  
Richard L. Wiener ◽  
Deborah A. Hope
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma ◽  
Diagnostic Labels

Battling Mental Illness Stigma in Greek Elementary Schools

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klio C. Geroulanou ◽  
Eleni Louki ◽  
Lily Peppou ◽  
Marina Economou
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Mental Illness Stigma
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