Attitudes To Mental Illness Questionnaire Research Articles

Evaluating Stigmatization Toward Mental Illnesses Among Resident Physicians.

Background Individuals with mental illness are stigmatized by peers in societal, workplace, and healthcare settings. The stigmatization individuals experience from healthcare providers is well documented and pervasive, often being a detriment to the quality of healthcare these individuals receive. Objective Recognizing and addressing stigmatization towardindividuals with mental illnesses is imperative during residency training inGraduate Medical Education (GME) programs and throughout professional practice. We hope that this cross-sectional study will cultivate mindfulness and improve the healthcare outcomes of stigmatized individuals. Methodology A cross-sectional study using a web-based Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) with additional scenarios was utilized to assess stigma among resident physicians in differing specialties in a hospital training system.The research investigators collected anonymous data on demographics, characteristics, specialties, and the AMIQ. In eight vignettes, participants responded to five items using a five-point Likert scale assessing attitudes toward individuals. Results Of the 104 resident physicians enrolled in the hospital training system where the study was conducted, 58 (56%) volunteered to participate. The participating residents markedly exhibited negative attitudes toward the individual in the vignette with multiple inpatient psychiatric admissions. Residents also exhibited more negative attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia, self-harm by way of overdose, psychedelic users, cannabis users, andalcohol problems compared todiabetic andChristian individuals. Conclusions Residents exhibited negative attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. Additional research would further our understanding of the reasons for physician bias. Moreover, GME programs and medical educators can play a crucial role in mitigating stigma among future physicians, thereby enhancing care for individuals with mental illness.

An Italian Validation of the 5-Item Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ): A Useful Tool for Rapid Assessment of Stigma, Acceptance, and Tolerance

Stigma negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities, affecting relationships, education, and employment and leading to an additional burden on mental health. Assessing public attitudes towards people with mental health conditions is crucial, especially in terms of public health. Therefore, the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was validated and adapted to the Italian cultural context. Translation followed four phases, involving bilingual speakers, comparison, back-translation, and expert review. In the pre-test phase, the questionnaire was administered to 21 participants anonymously. The validation test involved 213 subjects. Statistical analyses included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and McDonald’s Omega and Cronbach’s alpha to assess the internal consistency. The results indicate good internal consistency (Omega = 0.71; Alpha = 0.72), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFI = 0.971) validated the questionnaire’s construct. The study’s findings align with the original validation, underscoring the questionnaire’s robustness. Overall, understanding public attitudes is crucial for public health interventions combating stigma and fostering positive attitudes.

Impact of Psychiatry Clerkship Rotation in Attitudes Towards Mental Illness and Psychiatry as a Career Among Medical Students.

Stigma associated with mental illness (MI) permeates many professions, including healthcare. Recognizing and correcting bias is critical in delivering impartial and beneficial healthcare for all patients. Early educational interventions providing exposure to individuals with MI have shown to be effective at reducing MI stigma. The primary aim of our study was to assess the impact of a psychiatry clerkship on attitudes to MI. A secondary aim was to determine if the psychiatry clerkship influenced medical students' perceptions of psychiatry as a career. A cohort of third-year medical students in Florida was invited to complete an online survey before and after participating in their first 4-week-long psychiatry clerkship during the 2021-2022 academic year. The voluntary, anonymous survey consisted of the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) and a 3-item questionnaire on interest and knowledge in psychiatry. The Wilcoxon Sign-Rank test was used to determine statistical significance (P < .05) for pre- and post-clerkship values. Among 39 invited students, 22 participated before (56.4%), and 23 participated after their psychiatry rotation (59.0%). Overall, there was a statistically significant increase in the perceived level of general interest in psychiatry (P = .027), psychiatry knowledge (P < .001), and career interest in psychiatry (P = .040). There was also a significant decrease in the stigmatized attitude score for depression and self-harm after their psychiatry rotation (P = .042). Finally, the participants initially showed the highest stigmatized attitude score for intravenous drug abuse among the 4 mental illnesses presented, which also included depression and suicidal ideation, alcohol use disorder, and schizophrenia. The findings suggest that a psychiatry clerkship provided a positive exposure to the field, enhanced medical students' overall interest in psychiatry, and positively impacted medical students' attitudes towards MI.

Exploring the Impact of Psychiatric Nursing Placement on Under-graduate Nursing Students' Attitudes toward Mental Illness

This study examined the impact of psychiatric nursing placement on student nurses' attitudes toward mental illness. A within group pre-post test quasi-experimental design was employed using 112 fourth year undergraduate nursing students of a Nigerian University undergoing psychiatric nursing posting at a psychiatric hospital, recruited through convenience sampling. The Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was administered at the beginning and end of the 8 weeks posting. Paired samples t-test analysis showed a significant reduction in the belief that mental illness could damage one’s career, t(111) = -5.44, p&lt;.001; increased comfort about being in presence of a mentally ill colleague at work, t(111) = 6.55, p&lt;.001; increased ease inviting someone with mental health problems to a dinner party, t(111) = 6.11, p&lt;.001, and decreased belief about someone with mental health problems leaving spouse, t(111) = -2.50, p&lt;.001. The results revealed a significant change in the belief that someone with mental health problems could get into trouble with the law, t(111) = -1.43, p&lt;.001. On the influence of gender, the independent samples t-test results showed that there was no difference in the belief of both gender that mental illness could damage one’s career, t(112) = .43, p&gt;.05; feeling comfortable with a mentally ill colleague, t(112) = 1.53, p&gt;.05; feeling comfortable with someone having mental health problems in a dinner party, t(112) = 1.12, p&gt;.05; belief in the likelihood of someone with mental health problems leaving spouse, t(112) = .86, p&gt;.05, and the likelihood of getting into trouble with the law, t(112) = -.84, p&gt;.05. The implication of these findings on nursing education was discussed.

Attitude of community pharmacists toward patients with a substance-related disorder (heroin, alcohol and tobacco), estimation of harmfulness and knowledge of these substances, and continuing education: A pilot cross-sectional study

To investigate attitude of community pharmacists toward patients with a substance-related disorder (heroin, alcohol and tobacco). The attitudes were assessed thanks to the Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) for heroin, alcohol and tobacco-related disorders in three independent groups of pharmacists. Estimation of substance-related harmfulness, knowledge of substance-related disorders and activities/needs for continuing education on substance-related disorders were also recorded. Thirty-five pharmacists were included (heroin: 11, alcohol: 10 and tobacco: 14). AMIQ scores for heroin-related disorder were negative and lower than for alcohol (P<0.01) and tobacco (P<0.001). AMIQ scores for alcohol-related disorder were lower than for tobacco (P<0.05). The estimation of heroin-related harmfulness was higher than for alcohol and tobacco (P<0.001). The estimations of knowledge of substance-related disorders were lower for opioid and alcohol than for tobacco (P<0.001). AMIQ scores and the needs for continuing education on each associated addiction showed a positive relation (P<0.01). Pharmacists had a negative attitude toward heroin and alcohol-related disorders. A positive attitude toward patients with a substance-related disorder was associated with a need for continuing education. Efforts should be made to change attitudes and to promote continuing education on heroin and alcohol-related disorders.

At home or in hospital: Home treatment and mental health stigma.

Background:Stigmatized attitudes towards people with mental illness may influence treatment choice for oneself and others.Aim:To gauge the attitudes of the UK general public towards treatment at home for mental illness and to assess the extent to which non-acceptability was related to stigmatized attitudes.Methods:Two hundred and two (101 female) people living in the UK completed an online (vignette) questionnaire in which we asked demographic details and personal experience of mental illness. To measure stigma, we used an adapted version of the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) with vignettes asking about treatment at home and using scales for social distance and poor expectations; participants also filled in the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS).Results:Participants did not evidence overall agreement with treatment at home for mental illness (i.e. >0; range = −16-to-+16, Mean (M) = 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.08, 1.80, p = .073), although they showed significant agreement with treatment at home should they experience mental illness themselves (range = −8-to-+8, M = 1.36, CI = 0.82, 1.89, p < .001). Acceptability for treatment at home differed according to specific mental illness considered (range = −4-to-+4); depression (M = 0.47, CI = 0.13, 0.81, p = .006) and alcohol abuse (M = 1.46, CI = 1.14,1.77, p < .001) were considered suitable for being treated at home but schizophrenia was not (M = −0.78, CI = −1.13,−0.43, p < .001). Multivariate analyses revealed that older age and attitudes indicating comfort with less social distance from people with mental illness were independently associated with treatment at home agreeability.Conclusions:Public acceptability of home treatment for mental illness remains ambivalent in the UK, most obviously when considering treatment approaches for individuals other than themselves and for people with schizophrenia. Disagreement with home treatment is particularly evident in younger people and those who prefer less social contact with people with mental illness.

The impact of a psychiatry clinical rotation on the attitude of South African final year medical students towards mental illness

BackgroundStigmatising attitudes of health care professionals towards mental illness can impede treatment provided for psychiatric patients. Many studies have reported undergraduate training to be a critical period for changing the attitudes of medical students, and one particularly valuable intervention strategy involves time spent in a clinical psychiatric rotation. In South Africa, medical students are exposed to a clinical rotation in psychiatry but there is no evidence to show whether this has an effect on attitudes toward mental illness.MethodsThis prospective cohort study involved a convenience sample of 112 South African medical students in their 5th or 6th year of undergraduate training. This sample attended a 7-week psychiatry rotation. The Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess students’ attitudes toward mental illness before and after the clinical rotation which includes exposure to a number of psychiatric sub-divisions and limited didactic inputs.ResultsThere was a significant improvement (p < 0.01, t-test) in the students’ attitude toward mental illness following the psychiatric rotation. Females displayed a more positive attitude towards mental illness at the end of the rotation compared to males. The participants’ attitude significantly deteriorated for the non-psychiatric vignette describing diabetes (< 0.01, t-test).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that clinical training and exposure to a psychiatric setting impacts positively on medical students’ attitude towards mental illness, even when this training does not include any focused, didactic anti-stigma input.

Mental health first aid training among pharmacy and other university students and its impact on stigma toward mental illness

Background and purposeInformation on effective and replicable methods employed in pharmacy and other college students to combat stigmatizing beliefs toward those with mental illness is limited. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an international, standardized, eight-hour course focused on helping members of the general public triage a mental health crisis. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of MHFA training on stigmatizing attitudes toward those with mental illness among pharmacy and non-pharmacy students. Educational activity and settingPharmacy and non-pharmacy students were invited to voluntarily participate in one of two MHFA sessions. A survey utilizing the Social Distance Scale (SDS) and Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was given to participants before and after the MHFA session to assess change in stigmatizing behavior. FindingsThirty-four pharmacy students and 21 non-pharmacy students participated in the study. Overall, stigma toward depression and schizophrenia decreased. For the SDS schizophrenia vignette, a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) was seen on six of the seven responses for pharmacy students and on four responses in non-pharmacy students. Both pharmacy and non-pharmacy students improved on one item in the SDS depression vignette. For the AMIQ, pharmacy students demonstrated statistically significant improvement on four items in the schizophrenia vignette and five items in the depression vignette. Non-pharmacy students showed improvement on two items for both the AMIQ schizophrenia and depression vignettes. Discussion and summaryMHFA was effective in decreasing stigmatizing beliefs among pharmacy and non-pharmacy students. These findings support the utilization of teaching methods that emphasize the patient experience and humanize mental illness.

Intensity of previous teaching but not diagnostic skills influences stigmatization of patients with substance use disorder by general practice residents. A vignette study among French final-year residents in general practice

Background: High levels of stigma towards patients with substance use disorder (SUD) have been found in health professionals and medical students.Objectives: To assess the capability of residents in general practice to diagnose SUD correctly; to assess their stigmatization of patients with SUD and to assess the correlation between both variables. We hypothesized a negative correlation.Methods: In 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among French residents in general practice, using a self-administered questionnaire. First, a clinical case of SUD (tramadol) was presented, to assess the diagnosis and retained diagnostic criteria. A second clinical vignette was presented (intravenous heroin user) to assess stigmatization with the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ). Its score ranges from –10 (negative attitude) to +10 (positive attitude). AMIQ scores of residents who diagnosed SUD correctly versus incorrectly, and who had received at least six hours versus less than six hours of teaching on this topic, were compared using Student’s t-test.Results: Of 1284 solicited residents, 303 participated (23.6%), 249 residents diagnosed SUD correctly (82.2%). The mean AMIQ score was –3.91 (SD 2.4) without significant difference regarding the correct diagnosis of SUD; but with a significant difference between residents who had received training in SUD for at least six hours versus residents less trained (AMIQ scores –3.76 (SD 2.46) versus −4.50 (SD 2.27), p = .0354).Conclusion: Residents in general practice had a good capacity to diagnose SUD correctly but on average expressed negative attitudes toward people with SUD. More SUD teaching seems to help in reducing stigmatizing attitudes.

Stigma and Attitudes toward Patients with Psychiatric Illness among Postgraduate Indian Physicians

Background:Due to paucity of psychiatrists in India, psychiatric patients often present to other doctors. We aimed to study nonpsychiatric residents’ attitude and stigma toward psychiatric patients.Methods:A total of 57 postgraduate trainees participated in a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital in New Delhi. Attitudes to psychiatric patients were assessed using the attitude to mental illness questionnaire (AMIQ) and the perceived stigma questionnaire. This was correlated with sociodemographic information.Results:Over 70% residents accepted mentally ill patients as friends and felt they were equally employable. However, AMIQ demonstrated a negative attitude towards patients with schizophrenia. Perceived competence in dealing with psychiatric patients was associated with adequate undergraduate exposure (Chi-square = 7.270, P = 0.026) and correlated with positive attitudes (t-test, P = 0.0008).Conclusions:While the questionnaires revealed some prejudice toward psychiatric patients with schizophrenia, the postgraduate trainees who felt competent to deal with the mentally ill had the most positive attitudes toward them.

Stigmatization of mental health problems in Albania, ways of diminishing it

Background and aimMore recent definitions of stigma focus on the results of stigma – the prejudice, avoidance, rejection and discrimination directed at people believed to have an illness, disorder or other trait perceived to be undesirable.MethodsDuring this study, we used Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ), which helped us to understand the differences in the acceptance by the population for 3 different types of diseases: addiction, diabetes and schizophrenia.Results(1) Alban has diabetes. (2) Besnik has schizophrenia.Conclusions(1) The patients with schizophrenia have higher levels of stigma compared diabetic patients or those alcoholics (Tables 1 and 2 and Fig. 1). (2) Statistical processing carried out concluded that have statistically significant differences between gender-stigma (P = 0.001), age-stigma (P = 0.0001) and education-stigma (P = 0.001) (Fig. 2). (3) Health care workers stigma is exactly the same as in general population (P = 0.01) (Fig. 2).Recommendations– Support recovery and social inclusion and reduce discrimination.– Do not label or judge people with a mental illness, treat them with respect and dignity as you would anyone else.– Do not discriminate when they come participation, housing and employment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Indian nursing students' attitudes toward mental illness and persons with mental illness.

Background:Nursing fraternity play a pivotal role in psychiatric services. Negative attitudes toward mental illness have been consistently reported in nursing students. Psychiatric conditions and persons suffering from them may elicit different kinds of attitudinal responses.Objective:The current study aimed at assessing the attitude toward mental illness and also at comparative evaluation of the attitude toward persons with different psychiatric, physical, and social conditions.Materials and Methods:The present study was carried out among conveniently selected nursing students (n = 100) using Attitude Scale for Mental Illness (ASMI) and Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) on their 1st day of psychiatric posting.Results:Higher stereotype (3.1 ± 0.8), benevolence (3.7 ± 0.6), and pessimistic prediction (3.4 ± 0.9) were reported toward mental illness. Negative attitude was noted toward persons with criminal background (4.8 ± 3.7), heroin abuse (3.2 ± 3.6), suicidal depression (1.36 ± 3.6), alcohol use (0.59 ± 4.38), and schizophrenia (0.03 ± 3.2) in the same order, with positive attitude toward diabetic (−4.4 ± 3.9) and religious persons (−5.13 ± 3.6). Significant correlation of ASMI scores was noted mainly with schizophrenia of AMIQ but not with other psychiatric conditions.Conclusion:High negative attitudes in nursing students underline the need for stronger antistigma measures. Differences in attitude toward mental illness in general and specific psychiatric conditions need further systematic evaluation.

Reducing Stigma Towards Substance Users Through an Educational Intervention: Harder Than It Looks

Stigma towards people with substance use disorders is pervasive and imbedded in our US culture. Prejudicial attitudes that are part of a health care practitioner's value system are a barrier to people accessing health care and substance use treatment. This study aimed to reduce stigmatizing attitudes of graduate health care professional students by implementing an innovative curriculum combining multiple teaching methods. Physician assistant students received a 3-h educational intervention that consisted of lecture and discussion sessions, direct interaction with a recovering substance user, viewing a film portrayal of addiction and addiction treatment, and written self-reflection. Changes in student attitudes were measured using a subscale of the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) instrument and analysis of coded written reflections. A follow-up focus group resulted in additional qualitative insight into attitudes. Post-intervention scores for the "heroin" AMIQ vignette significantly improved compared to pre-test scores (p<0.007), but the effect was small and the mean post-test scores still reflected very negative attitudes. Students' neutral attitude towards alcohol use did not change as a result of the intervention. Written reflections demonstrated that this sample of students continued to harbor stigma towards people with substance use following the intervention. Focus group data suggested students believed that stigma beliefs about substance use were common among health care professionals, though they believed that their own level and quality of care would not be influenced by these beliefs. The persistence of negative attitudes following this and others' educational interventions suggests the need for a new approach to changing health care professionals' stigma towards substance users.

The attitude of medical students towards the mental mentally ill: the impact of a clinical attachment in Psychiatry

Background Working and associating with people with mental illness influence the attitudes towards mental illness. Medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka have a mandatory six week clinical attachment in psychiatry in the final year, which provides an opportunity to work with people with mental illness. Aims To determine the impact of the clinical attachment in psychiatry on attitudes among medical students towards people with mental illness. Method The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess stigmatizing attitudes, before and after the six week clinical attachment in psychiatry, in a cohort of medical students completing the appointment during a one year period January-December 2011. The AMIQ consists of five hypothetical case vignettes and five questions based on each case vignette. Results Questionnaires were received from 194 medical students, (88% response rate) before the commencement of the clinical attachment and from 137 medical students, (62% response rate) after completing the clinical attachment. The post attachment mean AMIQ stigma score had improved for schizophrenia, depression, heroin use and alcohol use. The difference in AMIQ stigma scores were significant for heroin use (p=0.014, median difference=0.4), schizophrenia (p=0.049, median difference = 0.3), and depression (p=0.014, median difference = 0.4) In both the pre-clinical attachment as well as the post-clinical attachment groups, stigmatizing attitudes were significantly higher for depression (p Conclusion The final year clinical attachment in psychiatry significantly reduced stigmatizing attitudes among medical students towards mental illness. Sri Lanka Journal of Psychiatry Vol 3(2) December 2012 Page 12-15 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljpsyc.v3i2.5132

Impact of psychiatric education and training on attitude of medical students towards mentally ill: A comparative analysis

Background:A number of studies from the western world have explored the negative beliefs held by individuals towards people with mental illness. The knowledge of attitude and awareness of undergraduate medical students towards psychiatry, mental health and mental disorders is of utmost importance.Objective:The current study aims at assessment of attitudes of medical students towards mental illness and mentally ill.Materials and Methods:The study used a cross-sectional survey design. The instruments used included Beliefs toward Mental Illness (BMI) scale, Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ). ANOVA was carried out to compare the in between group differences for the four study groups. Additionally Bonferroni correction was used to conduct the post hoc analysis.Results:The interns were significantly more likely to agree with the statement that the mental disorders are recurrent; less likely to be of thought that the behavior of people with mental disorders is unpredictable; more likely to disagree with the fact that diagnosis of depression as described in the case vignette was going to damage the career of the individual; more likely to agree with the option of inviting a depressed person to a party; more likely to believe in fact that mentally ill individuals are more likely to be criminals as compared to medical students in different professional years.Conclusions:Adequate modifications to existing medical curriculum would help improve attitude of medical students towards mentally ill.

Impact of positive images of a person with intellectual disability on attitudes: randomised controlled trial

Aims and methodTackling discrimination, stigma and inequalities in mental health is a major UK government objective yet people with intellectual disability (also known as learning disability in UK health services) continue to suffer serious stigma and discrimination. We examine the effect of viewing pictures of a person with intellectual disability on stigmatised attitudes. The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess stigmatised attitudes. Members of the general public were randomised to complete the questionnaire having looked at a good (attractive) or bad (unattractive) photograph of a person with intellectual disability.ResultsQuestionnaires were received from 187 participants (response rate 74%). The mean AMIQ stigma score for the bad photo group was 1.3 (s.e. = 0.3, median 1, interquartile range (IQR) = 0–3,n= 82). The mean AMIQ score for the good photo group was 2.8 (s.e. = 0.3, median 3, IQR = 1–5,n= 105). The difference in AMIQ stigma score was highly significant (two-sidedP= 0.0001, median difference 2, Mann–WhitneyU-test).Clinical implicationsLooking at a good (attractive) picture of a person with intellectual disability significantly reduces reported stigmatised attitudes, whereas a bad (unattractive) picture has no effect.

Stigmatised attitudes towards the ‘stressed’ or ‘ill’ models of mental illness

Aims and methodTackling discrimination, stigma and inequalities in mental health is a major objective of the UK government. The project aimed to determine the effect of presenting a person with a mental illness as having either a biological illness or a disorder that arose from psychosocial stress to a randomised representative panel of members of the general public. The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess stigmatised attitudes.ResultsOverall, 187 individuals returned their questionnaires (74% response rate). The mean AMIQ stigma score for the ‘ill’ group was 1.4 (s.e. = 0.3; n = 94). The mean AMIQ score for the ‘stress’ group was 0.5 (s.e. = 0.3; median n = 106; P = 0.0837, median difference = 1; power (for 5% significance) 81%).Clinical implicationsThere was no difference in the stigmatised attitudes towards a person with mental illness regardless of whether they were presented as biologically ill or as having an illness that was a response to psychosocial stress.

Improving Medical Student Attitudes Towards People with Schizophrenia

To develop and evaluate an intervention for final year medical students to reduce stigma against people with schizophrenia. A total of 87 students participated in a 3-h workshop that included both a contact component (a DVD of a young man with schizophrenia) and an experience of simulated auditory hallucinations. Attitudes to schizophrenia were evaluated using the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ), completed at the beginning and end of the workshop. There was a significant improvement in mean AMIQ scores after participating in the workshop. Students with more negative attitudes before the workshop showed the most significant improvement, whilst there was little change for students who held more positive attitudes. A workshop combining a DVD narrative by a young person with schizophrenia and simulated auditory hallucinations is an effective teaching tool to improve medical students' attitudes to people with schizophrenia.

Stigmatised attitudes in independent pharmacies associated with discrimination towards individuals with opioid dependence

Aims and methodDispensing of methadone to individuals with opioid dependence is a discretionary service and many independent pharmacies remain unwilling to do this. We aimed to determine whether there was any correlation between negative stigmatised attitude towards these individuals and the likelihood of methadone dispensing. The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used to assess stigmatised attitudes in a cluster randomised sample of managers of community pharmacies in England.ResultsThe response rate was 66%. The AMIQ stigma scores had a median difference of 1 and effect size of 0.42 in favour of those pharmacies which dispensed methadone (mean = 0.53; n = 138) compared with those who did not (mean = 0.93; n = 69; P &lt;0.001).Clinical implicationsThe results show a clear behavioural distinction (discrimination) based on stigmatised attitudes towards individuals with opioid dependence. This may arise because managers with stigmatised attitudes refuse to dispense methadone to this group. Conversely, familiarity with these individuals may have a de-stigmatising effect.

Stigmatised attitudes towards intellectual disability: a randomised crossover trial

Aims and methodTackling discrimination, stigma and inequalities in mental health is a major UK government objective yet people with intellectual disabilities continue to suffer serious stigma and discrimination. The project aimed to determine the effect of viewing a picture of a person with intellectual disability on stigmatised attitudes. The 20-point Attitude to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ) was used and a representative panel of members of the general public were randomised to complete the questionnaire either with (experimental) or without (control) looking at a picture of a man with Down syndrome. Six months later the same experiment was performed with the groups crossed over.ResultsResults were received for 360 participants (response rate 87–93%). The sequence (control or experimental) had no significant effect on the outcome. The mean AMIQ score in the control groups was 1.56 (s.d. = 2.85, s.e. = 0.21,n=186) and in the experiment group (after looking at the pictures) was 2.43 (s.d. = 2.59, s.e. = 0.12,n= 174; median difference 1,P= 0.0016 Mann-WhitneyU-test; effect size 0.23).Clinical implicationsLooking at a picture of a man with Down syndrome significantly reduces reported stigmatised attitudes.