Stigma and Attitudes toward Patients with Psychiatric Illness among Postgraduate Indian Physicians

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background:

Due to paucity of psychiatrists in India, psychiatric patients often present to other doctors. We aimed to study nonpsychiatric residents’ attitude and stigma toward psychiatric patients.

Methods:

A total of 57 postgraduate trainees participated in a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in New Delhi. Attitudes to psychiatric patients were assessed using the attitude to mental illness questionnaire (AMIQ) and the perceived stigma questionnaire. This was correlated with sociodemographic information.

Results:

Over 70% residents accepted mentally ill patients as friends and felt they were equally employable. However, AMIQ demonstrated a negative attitude towards patients with schizophrenia. Perceived competence in dealing with psychiatric patients was associated with adequate undergraduate exposure (Chi-square = 7.270, P = 0.026) and correlated with positive attitudes ( t-test, P = 0.0008).

Conclusions:

While the questionnaires revealed some prejudice toward psychiatric patients with schizophrenia, the postgraduate trainees who felt competent to deal with the mentally ill had the most positive attitudes toward them.

Related collections

Most cited references 6

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Myths, beliefs and perceptions about mental disorders and health-seeking behavior in Delhi, India

Jugal Kishore, Avni Gupta, Ram Jiloha … (2011)

Objectives: To assess the myths, beliefs and perceptions about mental disorders and health-seeking behavior in general population and medical professionals of India. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 436 subjects (360 subjects from urban and rural communities of Delhi and 76 medical professionals working in different organizations in Delhi). A pre-tested questionnaire consisting items on perceptions, myths, and beliefs about causes, treatment, and health-seeking behavior for mental disorders was used. The collected data were statistically analyzed using computer software package Epi-info. Appropriate tests of significance were applied to detect any significant association. Results: The mental disorders were thought to be because of loss of semen or vaginal secretion (33.9% rural, 8.6% urban, 1.3% professionals), less sexual desire (23.7% rural, 18% urban), excessive masturbation (15.3% rural, 9.8% urban), God's punishment for their past sins (39.6% rural, 20.7% urban, 5.2% professionals), and polluted air (51.5% rural, 11.5% urban, 5.2% professionals). More people (37.7%) living in joint families than in nuclear families (26.5%) believed that sadness and unhappiness cause mental disorders. 34.8% of the rural subjects and 18% of the urban subjects believed that children do not get mental disorders, which means they have conception of adult-oriented mental disorders. 40.2% in rural areas, 33.3% in urban areas, and 7.9% professionals believed that mental illnesses are untreatable. Many believed that psychiatrists are eccentric (46.1% rural, 8.4% urban, 7.9% professionals), tend to know nothing, and do nothing (21.5% rural, 13.7% urban, 3.9% professionals), while 74.4% of rural subjects, 37.1% of urban subjects, and 17.6% professionals did not know that psychiatry is a branch of medicine. More people in rural areas than in urban area thought that keeping fasting or a faith healer can cure them from mental illnesses, whereas 11.8% of medical professionals believed the same. Most of the people reported that they liked to go to someone close who could listen to their problems, when they were sad and anxious. Only 15.6% of urban and 34.4% of the rural population reported that they would like to go to a psychiatrist when they or their family members are suffering from mental illness. Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that the myths and misconceptions are significantly more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas and among medical professionals, and the people need to be communicated to change their behavior and develop a positive attitude toward mental disorders so that health-seeking behavior can improve.

0 comments Cited 40 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Training and National deficit of psychiatrists in India – A critical analysis

M. Thirunavukarasu, P. Thirunavukarasu (2010)

India is the second most populous country in the world, with an estimated current population of 1.17 billion. This article aims to estimate the deficit of psychiatrists in India in relation to epidemiological burden of mental illness, propose short-term and long-term strategies to tackle the deficit and emphasize the importance of modifying the curriculum of undergraduate medical education to enable the proposed strategies. With 6.5% prevalence of serious mental disorder, the average national deficit of India is estimated to be 77%. More than one-third of the population has more than 90% deficit of psychiatrists. The authors estimated that the undergraduate medical curriculum devotes only 1.4% of lecture time and 3.8-4.1% of internship time to psychiatry, thereby leaving the general practitioners and the non-psychiatrist specialists unprepared to competently deal with mental illness in their practice. We propose short and long-term strategies to manage this deficit of psychiatrists.

0 comments Cited 27 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Undergraduate medical students’ attitude toward psychiatry: A cross-sectional study

Jatinder Chawla, Yatan Pal Singh Balhara, Rajesh Sagar … (2012)

Background: The present study aims at understanding the attitude of the undergraduate medical students toward psychiatry, mental health and psychiatric disorders and their treatment. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The study involved random distribution of the questionnaire to the participants in an institute's festival. The authors utilized a semi-structured questionnaire to evaluate the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of the undergraduate students to psychiatry, mental health and psychiatric disorders. The data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences version 10.0 software. The analysis involved descriptive analysis of the data. Results and Conclusions: A total of 210 of people responded to the questionnaire given to them. Of these, 164 were considered for further analysis as the rest had not provided the complete background information or the questionnaire was not completed. The undergraduate medical students had multiple lacunae in their knowledge toward psychiatry, psychiatric disorders, psychiatric patients and psychiatric treatment. A potential contributory fact could be the neglect of psychiatry as a discipline at the undergraduate level. The undergraduate medical students had multiple lacunae in their knowledge toward psychiatry, psychiatric disorders, psychiatric patients and psychiatric treatment.

0 comments Cited 19 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Indian J Psychol Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Indian J Psychol Med

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJPsyM

Title: Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine

Publisher: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd (India )

ISSN (Print): 0253-7176

ISSN (Electronic): 0975-1564

Publication date (Print): Nov-Dec 2017

Volume: 39

Issue: 6

Pages: 746-749

Affiliations

[1]Department of Psychiatry, Gudalur Adivasi Hospital, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India

[1 ]Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

[2 ]Department of Anaesthesia, Believers Church Medical College Hospital, Thiruvalla, Kerala, India

Author notes

Address for correspondence: Dr. Susmita Chandramouleeswaran Gudalur Adivasi Hospital, ASWHINI, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: susmit1984@ 123456yahoo.co.in

Article

Publisher ID: IJPsyM-39-746

DOI: 10.4103/IJPSYM.IJPSYM_84_17

PMC ID: 5733422

PubMed ID: 29284805

SO-VID: 73b4ffdf-129f-49e9-a12f-3ae966e93206

License:

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Stigma and Attitudes toward Patients with Psychiatric Illness among Postgraduate Indian Physicians

Read this article at

Abstract

Background:

Methods:

Results:

Conclusions:

Related collections

Journal of Behavioral Addictions

Most cited references 6

Myths, beliefs and perceptions about mental disorders and health-seeking behavior in Delhi, India

Training and National deficit of psychiatrists in India – A critical analysis

Undergraduate medical students’ attitude toward psychiatry: A cross-sectional study

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 312

Cited by 3

Most referenced authors 47