Abstract
People with mental illnesses (MIs) face several challenges in addition to their disease. People’s negative views of those with MIs impact patients’ decisions to seek professional help. The aims of this study were to assess pharmacy students’ attitudes toward people with MIs and seeking help for mental health, as well as their knowledge about the causes of MIs. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on pharmacy students at Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. Out of the 460 distributed questionnaires, 330 complete questionnaires were received, giving a response rate of 71.7%. Overall, the mean total score for attitude towards people with MIs was 60.16 ± 10.48 (maximum attainable score: 105). In this study, 51.12% believed that people with MIs are more likely to harm others than a person without MIs and 66.9% mentioned that they did not trust the work of a mentally ill person as part of their work team. However, only 35.45% believed that it is difficult for mentally ill individuals to follow social rules. In terms of attitudes toward help-seeking, the mean total score of was 12.83 ± 3.16 out of the maximum score of 25. In addition, the mean total score for knowledge about causes of mental illness was 2.92 ± 1.76 out of the maximum score of 8. The participants reported that MIs could be due to genetic inheritance (56%), substance abuse (54.5%), or brain disease (66.1%). The findings showed that there are some negative attitudes toward people with MIs and negative attitudes towards seeking help for mental health. In addition, some misconceptions about the causes of MIs are prevalent. Consequently, the incorporation of more topics concerning mental health in pharmacy curricula could help improve the awareness of and knowledge about mental health.
Highlights
People with mental illnesses (MIs) often face several challenges in carrying out daily activities [1]
Many of them experience discrimination and difficulties in finding suitable employment, as well as a lack of access to health care and education facilities [2,3]. Most of these challenges stem from misunderstood concepts of mental diseases, including negative views and stereotypes, which are prevalent in many societies [1]
This is similar to the results reported from India in which 54% of students agreed that people with mental illness have a greater tendency to be criminals [16]
Summary
People with mental illnesses (MIs) often face several challenges in carrying out daily activities [1]. Many of them experience discrimination and difficulties in finding suitable employment, as well as a lack of access to health care and education facilities [2,3] Most of these challenges stem from misunderstood concepts of mental diseases, including negative views and stereotypes, which are prevalent in many societies [1]. Stigma toward MIs is prevalent in many societies This includes fears, negative attitudes toward patients with MIs, and avoidance of dealing with them on a regular basis. This stigma remains attached to many societies despite improvement in treating patients with mental disorders [3,4]. A meta-analysis study published in 2014, which included 155 surveys conducted in different communities across 59 countries, showed that about one in five persons had experienced a mental disorder within a period of twelve months [6]
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