Knowledge, attitude and perceptions of medical students towards mental health in a university in Uganda

Abstract

Background The prevalence of mental illness among medical students is high. A gap remains on what knowledge should be given to improve the attitudes and perceptions towards mental health. Despite the vast body of literature globally, no study has been conducted in Uganda to assess the levels of knowledge, attitude, and perception among medical students in Uganda. Objective To determine the level of knowledge, attitude, and perception and their associated factors among medical students in Uganda. Methods A cross-sectional study was done among 259 undergraduate medical students in a public university capturing information on knowledge, attitude, and perception towards mental health. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with knowledge, attitude, and perception. Results About 77.72% had high knowledge, 49.29% had positive attitudes, and 46.92% had good perceptions of mental health. There was a significant positive relationship between attitude and perceptions towards mental illness. At multilevel analysis, being in year 4 increased the level of knowledge (β = 1.50 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.46–2.54], p = 0.005) while a positive history of mental illness worsened perceptions towards mental illness (β = -4.23 [95% CI = −7.44–1.03], p = 0.010). Conclusion Medical students have a high level of knowledge about mental illness but the majority had poor attitudes and perceptions of mental illness. Exposure to psychiatry knowledge about mental illness in year four increased students’ knowledge while prior experience with mental illness conditions was associated with poorer perceptions. The information present in this study can be used by policymakers and future researchers to design future studies and interventions to improve knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes especially among students who have a history of mental illness. Improvements in knowledge, attitude, and perception may improve the mental health services for the future patients of these medical students.

Self-diagnose is associated with knowledge and attitude towards mental illness of university students in Indonesia

“…One of the significant risk factors associated with poor knowledge of mental illness was not having studied psychology or psychiatry formally. In line with previous studies, those who received formal education about psychiatry, such as medical students, tend to have higher knowledge of mental health [8,15]. Our result emphasizes the need to improve students' mental health literacy and mental health education in university curriculums.…”

Insights Into Mental Health, Lifestyle Patterns, and Academic Attitudes among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…Among the study respondents, 379(93.3%) of the respondents need not have mental health services and only 27(6.7%) received mental health services. This is corroborated by the findings of Kihumuro RB et al, who found that the majority 86.73% not receive mental health services while only 13.27% need to have such services [20]. Regarding General Anxiety Disorder(GAD) , of respondents 191(47.1%) had no GAD, 166(40.9%) had mild, 28(6.9%) had moderate and only 21(5.1%) had severe disorder.…”

A cross-sectional study of opinion about mental illness among undergraduate medical students with and without exposure to the psychiatry clinical rotation/postings during their undergraduate training

“…Most of the studies that have been done on medical students/doctors with regard to attitude toward mental illness had a proportion of knowledge from as low as 45% to as high as 75%. [ 17 , 18 ] In our study, we have taken the estimated proportion of knowledge regarding mental health problems as 75%, with 95% confidence level, and 5% margin of error. Accordingly, the sample size was calculated [ n = (zα/2) 2 P (1 − p)/d2].…”