Abstract
Background:Wide prevalence of mental illness has been documented in South India; however, the magnitude of stigma is unclear.Aims:The aim was to investigate the magnitude of stigma prevalent among medical professionals in Hyderabad, India.Materials and Methods:A prospective survey of seven common psychiatric disorders for eight specified perceptions was conducted. Responses of 226 out of 250 (90%) doctors were analyzed.Results:Significant overall negative perception (P < 0.001), with drug addiction (52.8%) and alcoholism (48.2%) eliciting most negative perceptions (Chi-square: P <0.05) was observed. Significant negative perceptions were also seen among married doctors and those with < 10 years experience. Even though, there was no overall difference based on gender (P = 0.242), more females had significant negative perception toward eating disorders, depression, dementia, alcoholism and schizophrenic patients (P ≤ 0.05).Conclusions:This study revealed negative attitude of doctors toward mentally ill and highlighted the gender difference in perceptions.
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