Abstract
BackgroundDiminishing stigmatization for those with mental illnesses by health care providers (HCPs) is becoming a priority for programming and policy, as well as research. In order to be successful, we must accurately measure stigmatizing attitudes and behaviours among HCPs. The Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) was developed to measure stigma in HCP populations. In this study we revisit the factor structure and the responsiveness of the OMS-HC in a larger, more representative sample of HCPs that are more likely to be targets for anti-stigma interventions.MethodsBaseline data were collected from HCPs (n = 1,523) during 12 different anti-stigma interventions across Canada. The majority of HCPs were women (77.4%) and were either physicians (MDs) (41.5%), nurses (17.0%), medical students (13.4%), or students in allied health programs (14.0%). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using complete pre-test (n = 1,305) survey data and responsiveness to change analyses was examined with pre and post matched data (n = 803). The internal consistency of the OMS-HC scale and subscales was evaluated using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The scale’s sensitivity to change was examined using paired t-tests, effect sizes (Cohen’s d), and standardized response means (SRM).ResultsThe EFA favored a 3-factor structure which accounted for 45.3% of the variance using 15 of 20 items. The overall internal consistency for the 15-item scale (α = 0.79) and three subscales (α = 0.67 to 0.68) was acceptable. Subgroup analysis showed the internal consistency was satisfactory across HCP groups including physicians and nurses (α = 0.66 to 0.78). Evidence for the scale’s responsiveness to change occurred across multiple samples, including student-targeted interventions and workshops for practicing HCPs. The Social Distance subscale had the weakest level of responsiveness (SRM ≤ 0.50) whereas the more attitudinal-based items comprising the Attitude (SRM ≤ 0.91) and Disclosure and Help-seeking (SRM ≤ 0.68) subscales had stronger responsiveness.ConclusionsThe OMS-HC has shown to have acceptable internal consistency and has been successful in detecting positive changes in various anti-stigma interventions. Our results support the use of a 15-item scale, with the calculation of three sub scores for Attitude, Disclosure and Help-seeking, and Social Distance.
Highlights
Diminishing stigmatization for those with mental illnesses by health care providers (HCPs) is becoming a priority for programming and policy, as well as research
Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 65 years (n = 1,027), over 77.8% were women (n = 1,029), 18.7% reported that they had been treated for a mental illness (n = 1,339), 79.6% knew a close family or friend with a mental illness (n = 1,414), and 58.8% had treated a patient with a mental illness (n = 655)
Item responses A summary of the distribution of responses to each of the Opening Minds Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) items are shown in Additional file 2
Summary
Diminishing stigmatization for those with mental illnesses by health care providers (HCPs) is becoming a priority for programming and policy, as well as research. In order to be successful, we must accurately measure stigmatizing attitudes and behaviours among HCPs. The Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) was developed to measure stigma in HCP populations. Perhaps most importantly, stigmatizing attitudes by health care providers are likely to compound a person’s feelings of rejection and isolation and be a real barrier to receiving appropriate care [11]. For these reasons, diminishing stigmatization by health care providers is increasingly becoming a priority for both programming and policy, as well as research. The Opening Minds Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC) [16] was developed to evaluate anti-stigma interventions in health care provider populations
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