Abstract:

Patients suffering from mental illness often face stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors from the general population. However, health care professionals frequently exhibit negative attitudes toward people with mental disorders, as well. This can compromise adequate service provision. In the present study we aimed to assess and compare stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with specific mental disorders (schizophrenia, major depression of substance use disorders) of community pharmacists and health sciences university students enrolled in pharmacy, nursing or odontology school.
A total of 111 Community pharmacists and 97 graduate students completed a self-assessment scale with 50 items divided in five sections: a first block addressing the sociodemographic characteristics of participants, and the rest four blocks with questions assessing attitudes towards patients with psychiatric disorders in general, with a diagnosis a substance use disorder, major depression or schizophrenia, scored on a 5-point Likert scale and that have used in similar studies conducted in general population, with university students and with health care professionals. Both samples considered drug-addiction as a threat to society, In addition, a majority of pharmacists and students considered patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia as a danger to others and unpredictable. Both groups showed high scores on each item, therefore suggesting stigmatizing attitudes towards individuals with mental illness. No statistically significant differences were seen in the comparison of the study groups. Results were similar to that observed with similar samples in other countries. The results, in any case, underpin the need for further educating health care professional involved at different levels of care with patients with a psychiatric diagnosis.

Keywords:

Stigma, mental illness, pharmacist, students.