Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Mental illness stigma can have disastrous consequences for patients, families and healthcare organizations. Unconscious bias informed education seeks a systematic approach to addressing implicit biases in healthcare providers by promoting awareness and understanding in order to promote compassion and empathy. After a 1 hour intervention, third year medical students who were enrolled in the third year psychiatry clerkship rotation completed a demographic form, (pre/post) a shortened mental illness implicit association test (IAT) and the Brief Mental Illness Attitudes Scale (BMIAS). For the IAT, the majority (51.4%) of participants demonstrated a bias that mental illness was associated with dangerousness. A paired samples t test of BMIAS scores found no significant change in pre and post scores on Responsibility subscale. There was a statistically significant improvement in the in the Traits subscale from pre (n=87, m=5.15, sd=0.87) and post (n=87, m=5.62, sd=0.71), t(86)=5.16 p<0.001. Our brief seminar had a statistically significant impact on student attitudes towards patients with traits of individuals with psychiatric illness. These findings indicate that mental illness stigma is an important issue in medical education and that unconscious bias-informed education may provide an effective method to reduce stigma.
Highlights
Mental illness stigma can have disastrous consequences for patients, families and healthcare organizations
While unconscious bias has been extensively researched in the areas of gender, culture and race (Green, Carney et al 2007, Verdonk, Benschop et al 2009, Haider, Sexton et al 2011), it has been relatively underexplored in the area of mental illness stigma
Our brief seminar had a statistically significant impact on student attitudes towards patients with traits of individuals with psychiatric illness, while their total attitudes score did not demonstrate a significant change. These findings indicate that mental illness stigma is an important issue in medical education and that unconscious bias-informedd education may provide an effective method to reduce stigma
Summary
Mental illness stigma can have disastrous consequences for patients, families and healthcare organizations. Designing effective educational interventions relating to the destructive impact of stigma and bias on underserved patient populations may benefit from incorporating implicit or unconscious bias. Unconscious bias informed education seeks a systematic approach to addressing implicit biases in healthcare by promoting awareness and understanding in order to improve compassion and empathy. In order for educational interventions that incorporate conscious awareness of implicit bias as an effective strategy, they must be designed to address a potential "kickback" effect where individuals over-compensate and develop counter-biases in response to bias-eradication efforts (Ross 2014). While unconscious bias has been extensively researched in the areas of gender, culture and race (Green, Carney et al 2007, Verdonk, Benschop et al 2009, Haider, Sexton et al 2011), it has been relatively underexplored in the area of mental illness stigma
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