Medical and nursing students' attitudes to people with mental illness in Nigeria: a tale of two teaching hospitals

Abstract

This study compared beliefs about and attitudes to mental illness among medical and nursing students at two teaching hospitals in Nigeria with very different levels of psychiatric instructional capacity. Factor analysis of responses to a 43-item self-report questionnaire identified three domains: social acceptance of people with mental illness; belief in non-superstitious causation of mental illness; and stress, trauma and poverty as external causes of mental illness, with entitlement to employment rights. Students at the hospital with a larger, functioning psychiatry department had significantly higher scores on all three factors. Culturally enshrined beliefs and attitudes about mental illness are not uncommon among medical trainees. The availability of psychiatric education and services may have a positive effect on beliefs and attitudes.

Attitudes towards people with mental illness among psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, involved family members and the general population in a large city in Guangzhou, China

“…The questionnaire included 43 dichotomous (yes/no) questions with some supplemental items concerning the impact witchcraft and curses developed for use in West Africa [11,12] and supplemental items documenting respondent socio-demographic characteristics.…”

Attitudes towards mental illness among medical students in China: Impact of medical education on stigma

“…More positive attitudes towards people with mental illness among physicians could potentially improve treatment of mentally ill patients regardless of which specialty they work in (Failde et al, 2014;O'Connor et al, 2013). Increased education and training at more advanced stages in medical school may shape future physicians' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about mental disorders (Iheanacho, Stefanovics, Makanjuola, Marienfeld, & Rosenheck, 2014).…”

Attitudes and beliefs about mental illness among church-based lay health workers: experience from a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission trial in Nigeria

“…The measures addressed: (1) conceptions of the cause of mental illness based on questions developed for the World Psychiatric Association Program to Reduce Stigma and Discrimination because of Schizophrenia, (2) possible treatment options based on the CAMI scale, (3) social distance, with questions derived from the FABI questionnaire and, finally, (4) social acceptance and social stigma as assessed by a series of questions based on the CAMI questionnaire. This instrument has been used in previous studies that explored attitudes to mental illness among trainees and healthcare professionals in Nigeria (Ighodaro, Stefanovics, Makanjuola, & Rosenheck, 2015 ; Iheanacho, Marienfeld et al, 2014 ; Iheanacho, Stefanovics et al, 2014 ).…”

“…With only about 150 psychiatrists for a population of more than 160 million people (Kakuma et al, 2011 ), Nigeria exemplifies the severe lack of capacity for mental healthcare provision seen in low and middle-income countries. Furthermore, among the general population, including healthcare professionals, in Nigeria, stigma and negative attitudes toward people with mental illness are common, and explanatory models of mental illness include strongly held beliefs in the role of witchcraft and evil (Gureje, Lasebikan, Ephraim-Oluwanuga, Olley, & Kola, 2005 ; Gureje, Olley, Ephraim-Oluwanuga, & Kola, 2006 ; Iheanacho, Marienfeld, Stefanovics, & Rosenheck, 2014 ; Iheanacho, Stefanovics, Makanjuola, Marienfeld, & Rosenheck, 2014 ). These beliefs, stigma and negative attitudes affect help seeking for behavioral and emotional problems and can have effects on health outcomes (Corrigan & Watson, 2002 ; Schulze, 2007 ).…”