Pharmacy and nursing students' stigma and perceptions toward individuals with mental illness impacted through interaction with a website featuring lived experiences

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionDespite its high prevalence and negative impact, mental illness is often sub‐optimally treated, in part, due to stigma among health care professionals. Future health care professionals are at the forefront of a potential solution for the provision of stigma‐free, equitable mental health care. Innovative approaches to reducing the stigma toward individuals with mental illness are needed. One approach is utilization of the SNAP the Stigma website (www.snapthestigma.com), a collection of photos and reflections by individuals with lived experiences with mental illness.ObjectiveThis study was conducted to address the question: Does interacting with the SNAP the Stigma website impact pharmacy and nursing students' perceptions and social distance preference toward an individual with mental illness?MethodsA pre‐ and post‐survey employed the Bogardus social distance scale (SDS) to assess stigma toward a vignette individual before and after website interaction. In the post‐survey, participants reflected on one or more posts from the website that impacted them. A qualitative analysis was performed to identify themes from the responses.ResultsA statistically significant reduction in total SDS scores occurred as a result of interaction with SNAP. Three themes were derived including symbolism of mental illness, increased empathy/reduced stereotyping, and lessons regarding what a health care professional can do and offer.ConclusionThese findings suggest that use of the SNAP website as a stigma‐reduction intervention could be a valuable tool for current and future health care professionals to decrease stigma toward those with mental illness and to build intentionality toward empathic and non‐discriminatory behavior in health care practice.