Stigma against people with mental illness in occupational therapy undergraduate students and faculty,

Gajardo, Jean; Espinosa, Francisca; Goycolea, Rodrigo; Oyarzún, Mónica; Muñoz, Irene; Valdebenito, Ana; Pezoa, Carolina

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Original Article • Cad. Bras. Ter. Ocup. 30 • 2022 • https://doi.org/10.1590/2526-8910.ctoAO24103145 copy

Stigma against people with mental illness in occupational therapy undergraduate students and faculty¹ 1 This studio is part of the Project CP2018015 “Estigma hacia las enfermedades mentales en la comunidad académica de la Universidad Central”. , ² 2 Ethical approval. The ethical approval was granted by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of the Central University of Chile, closed on December 14, 2018, according to the Declaration of Helsinki and the Law 20120 that regulates scientific research in Chile.

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Introduction

People with mental illness experience stigmatizing attitudes from the general population, including health professionals and students. International studies have estimated the stigma in occupational therapy students towards people with mental illness as moderate.

Objective

To describe stigma against people with mental illness in occupational therapy undergraduate students and professors at one university in Chile.

Method

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study including 1^st and 4^th-year occupational therapy students and professors at one university in Santiago, Chile, 2020. An adapted version of the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (WHO-HC) was used to assess stigmatizing attitudes, and sociodemographic data were also collected. Average scores for WHO-HC were calculated for the 20-item questionnaire and also adjusted by its 3 dimensions with 15 items. UMann-Whitney y t-student tests were used to estimate group differences. Sociodemographic data were analyzed with descriptive statistics.

Results

Sample consisted of 87 subjects, average age 27 (18-58), 81 (93%) women, 41 (47%) 4^th year students, 28 (24%) 1^st year students, and 22 (25%) professors. WHO-HC average score for the sample was 42,2 (28-57) indicating moderate to low stigmatizing attitudes. The 1^st year students obtained higher scores, with a non-significant difference.

Conclusion

The results are consistent with previous literature estimating moderate to low levels of stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness. Emerging differences were observed between 1^st and 4^th-year students, to be explored by further studies in larger samples and other contexts.

Keywords:
Occupational Therapy; Social Stigma; Mental Health; Professional Training

Variables	Total
Variables	N (87)	%
Gender
Female	81	93
Male	6	7
Marital status
Single	68	78
Married	15	17
Common-law marriage	2	2
Divorced	1	1
They prefer not to answer	1	1
They have someone close with a mental health problem or illness
Yes	61	70
No	23	26
They prefer not to answer	3	3

Variables	Students		Professors
Variables	N (65)	%	N (22)	%
Gender
Female	63	97	18	82
Male	2	3	4	18
Marital status
Single	65	100	2	9
Married	0	0	16	73
Common-law marriage	0	0	2	9
Divorced	0	0	1	4.5
They prefer not to answer	0	0	1	4.5
They have someone close with a mental health problem or illness
Yes	40	61.5	21	95.5
No	22	33.8	1	4.5
They prefer not to answer	3	4.6	0	0

WHO-HC Dimension	Total WHO-HC dimension (15 items)
Attitudes towards people with mental health conditions ^a	11.6 (6-18)
Outreach and Help-Seeking ^b	12.2 (5-18)
Social distancing ^c	8.63 (5-17)

WHO-HC Dimension	First-year	Fourth-year	p-value
Attitudes towards people with mental health conditions ^a	12 (6-16)	11 (6-18)	0.16
Outreach and Help-Seeking ^b	8.9 (4-13)	8.8 (5-13)	0.97
Social distancing ^c	7.9 (5-11)	8.8 (5-15)	0.22

Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Terapia Ocupacional Rodovia Washington Luis, Km 235, Caixa Postal 676, CEP: , 13565-905, São Carlos, SP - Brasil, Tel.: 55-16-3361-8749 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: cadto@ufscar.br

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[1] Author’s Contributions

Jean Gajardo contributed to the study design, data analysis, writing, and manuscript review. Francisca Espinosa contributed to the study design, data collection, writing, and manuscript review. Rodrigo Goycolea contributed to the study design, data collection, writing, and manuscript review. Mónica Oyarzún contributed to the study design, data collection, and manuscript review. Irene Muñoz contributed to the study design, data collection, and manuscript review. Ana Valdebenito contributed to the study design, data collection, and manuscript review. Carolina Pezoa contributed to the study design, data collection, and manuscript review. All authors approved the final version of the text.