Is there any difference between attitude of interns toward psychiatric illness and other chronic medical conditions? A comparative study

Abstract

Background:Attitude of doctors towards specific medical conditions plays a crucial role in patient care. Internship, being the final stage in undergraduate medical students’ training, can have a bearing on the attitude they develop towards various specialties. However, there is dearth of Indian studies comparing the attitude of interns towards psychiatric illness and other chronic medical conditions. In this background, the study was conceived with the objective of comparing the attitude of interns towards psychiatric illness and other chronic medical conditions.Aims:(1) To compare the attitude of interns towards Psychiatric illness and Diabetes Mellitus. (2) To compare the attitude of interns towards Psychiatric illness and HIV/AIDS.Setting and Design:Conducted at Sri Siddhartha medical college, Tumakuru as a cross sectional study.Methodology:The sample for this cross sectional study comprised of 130 interns in a tertiary care teaching hospital who had completed their postings in Psychiatry. Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS) was used to assess the attitude of interns towards Psychiatry, Diabetes Mellitus and HIV/AIDS.Statistical Analysis:SPSS 20 was used with Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests to analyze the data obtained.Results:There was no significant difference between the overall MCRS scores for Diabetes Mellitus and psychiatric illnesses. However, many individual items and the overall scores of MCRS were significantly higher for psychiatric illnesses when compared to those for HIV/AIDS.Conclusions:The attitude of interns towards Psychiatric illness was comparable to that towards Diabetes Mellitus. However, their attitude towards Psychiatric illness was more favorable than that towards HIV/AIDS. Further studies need to focus on the various aspects of stigma/ attitude and the effect of undergraduate medical training on those aspects.

Stigma associated with mental health problems among young people in India: a systematic review of magnitude, manifestations and recommendations

“…Two other studies found poor levels of knowledge, with one study showing that 53.7% of students had poor knowledge regarding preventive measures of suicidal behaviour [ 95 ] and another showing that 43% of school students had inadequate knowledge of substance use [ 96 ]. Another study found that medical interns agreed that ‘patients like this (with psychiatric illnesses) irritate me’ or treating them was a ‘waste of money.’ [ 97 ] A qualitative study echoed our findings that mental health and mental illness were unclear concepts and were associated with acute problems, such as ‘brain deficiency or dysfunction and abnormal behaviour.’ [ 98 ] Another qualitative study found that college students believed that using substances helped to relieve depression, enhance health and lose weight and that using in small quantities did not cause harm [ 99 ]. The study suggests that future interventions should be non-judgemental, student-friendly, relatable and ‘specific to the youth’s life circumstances and needs.’…”

“…Another study found that medical interns agreed that 'patients like this (with psychiatric illnesses) irritate me' or treating them was a 'waste of money.' [97] A qualitative study echoed our findings that mental health and mental illness were unclear concepts and were associated with acute problems, such as 'brain deficiency or dysfunction and abnormal behaviour.' [98] Another qualitative study found that college students believed that using substances helped to relieve depression, enhance health and lose weight and that using in small quantities did not cause harm [99].…”

Assessment of nursing students’ attitudes and stigma towards mental illness: A cross-sectional study

“…In accordance with the present results, previous studies had demonstrated that medical and nursing students had reflected positive and acceptance attitudes towards mental illness. [1,26,27] In addition, physiotherapy students showed favorable attitudes towards mental illness. [12,13] In contrast to earlier findings, medical students illustrated negative attitudes toward mental illness [2,4,17] This inconsistency may be due to many reasons.…”

Nursing Interns’ Attitudes Toward, Preferences for, and Use of Diabetes Virtual Simulation Teaching Applications in China: National Web-Based Survey

“…In addition, an intern can detect hypoglycemia for the first time when measuring a patient’s blood sugar. If nursing interns know how to deal with hypoglycemic events, they can instruct patients to eat the correct glucose-increasing food immediately, thereby reducing the time interval from discovery to treatment of hypoglycemia and reducing the occurrence of adverse events [ 8 ].…”