Medical Students’ Beliefs and Attitudes Towards Schizophrenia Before and After Psychiatric Training in Almaarefa Colleges, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Journal Title: The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine - Year 2018, Vol 70, Issue 10
Abstract
<strong>Background: </strong>Public surveys have shown that the general population has limited knowledge about mental illness and holds unfavorable attitudes towards the people who suffer from it in various, culturally diverse, countries. <strong>Aims:</strong> The aim of the present study was to explore medical students’ beliefs and attitudes towards people with schizophrenia (PwS) prior to receiving any training in psychiatry and to assess the impact of the psychiatric placement on changing them. <strong>Methods:</strong> A questionnaire addressing beliefs, attitudes and desired social distance from PwS was distributed to all final year medical students before the beginning of their 4-week undergraduate psychiatric placement and upon its completion. <strong>Results:</strong> Students did not endorse stereotypes commonly attached to PwS, such as being dangerous, lazy or of lower intelligence, but they held the view that PwS are unpredictable and suffer from split personality. Furthermore, the baseline level of desired social distance was found to increase as the intimacy of the interaction increased, and the only variable associated with it was personal experience of serious mental illness. Moreover, the placement was found to have either no influence at all or in a negative direction. Upon its completion more students were found to believe that PwS couldn’t recover, have no insight into their condition, cannot make reasonable decisions, cannot work in regular jobs and are dangerous to the public. No difference was recorded in social distance scores. <strong>Conclusions: </strong>A close and critical examination of the various elements of the undergraduate placement in psychiatry is needed in order to develop an evidence based, fully rounded education with an anti-stigma orientation.
Authors and Affiliations
Eman Helal
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP583720
- DOI -
- Views 74
- Downloads 0
Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy versus Total Abdominal Hysterectomy in Uterine Tumors
<strong>Background:</strong> laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH) rates have increased but abdominal hysterectomy (AH) still high and often the first choice for many surgeons even with most of studies reported that the minimal...
Recent Advances in Management of Postoperative Vomiting for Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgeries
<strong>Background and Objectives:</strong> obesity continues to be a leading public health concern associated with many comorbidities that significantly decrease life expectancy. Surgery remains the only effective treat...
Prospective Study of Changes in Anti-HCV Immunoglobulin G Antibody Titers after Treatment with Direct Acting Antiviral Agents
Introduction: worldwide, approximately 180 million people are living with CHC, which corresponds to a global prevalence of 1.1% and millions more are newly infected each year. Annually, 700.000 people die from HCV-relate...
Fetal Head Circumference as a Predictor of Successful Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery
Background: Intrapartum head circumference is an integral part of sonographic models and important for the purpose of fetal weight estimation as well as in cases which abnormal fetal head growth is suspected, it is consi...
Predictive value of Cerebroplacental blood flow ratio for fetal heart rate disturbances and perinatal outcome
Background: Doppler ultrasound velocimetry foetal vessels have become established method of antenatal monitoring, allowing non-invasive assessment of foetal circulation. Aims: To determine the usefulness of Doppler veloc...