Stigma Related to Mental Illness in Medical Students From Madrid.

Abstract

Introduction Several studies show a high prevalence of stigma related to mental illnes. This implicate the presence of prejudiced behaviours and false beliefs when treating with people with mental disorders. The literature reveals elevated rates of stigmatization in general population. Also, it is documented in general healthcare professionals and even in mental health workers or medicine students. This scene supposes an obstacle in several vital areas. The evaluation of stigma in medicine students become fundamental considering that they will be professionals soon. Objectives To evaluate the attitudes towards mental illness in a sample of medicine students from Madrid. Material and Methods The MICA (Mental Illness Clinician’ s Attitudes) scale v4 was used to evaluate the objective. Different sociodemographic variables were also included just like information about the clinical speciality the would like to choose. The posible association between theese variables and the scale reults was evaluated. 100 medical students in their 5°-6° year of the degree completed this questionnaire. The sample was collected from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. A descriptive and analytical analysis were carried out using the statistics programme spss v. 21. Results and Conclusions The results suggest that the rates of stigma between medical students from this sample are higher than desirable. That situation reinforce the need of encourage anti-stigma programmes which probably should include a longer contact between medical students and psychiatric patients.