Effect of an educational intervention package on the medical students’ stigma towards psychiatric patients

Abstract Background Stigma towards psychiatric patients, negatively affects their adherence to treatment, prolongs the course of disease, and reduces rehabilitation success. The attitudes of health care providers have a substantial effect on the treatment seeking and the outcome of psychiatric patients. Aims To investigate the effect of a stigma reduction package on improving the attitude of medical students towards patients with psychiatric disorders. Methods We included medical students at the Iran Psychiatric Hospital in the study and divided them into two intervention and control groups using cluster randomization method. In addition to regular psychiatric training, the intervention group was trained with a package that included watching a film, stigma awareness workshop, and direct contact with psychiatric patients; each followed by group discussions. The outcome measures were assessed three times; before, immediately after, and three months after the intervention, using the Social Distance Item (SDI), Perceived Dangerousness of Mental Patients Item (PDMPS), and the short form of Opening Minds Scale for Health Care (OMS-HC). Results Ninety-three participants participated in the study; the intervention group included 51 (54.8%) and the control group included 42 students (45.2%). According to the scores of all three questionnaires, the stigma score reduced throughout the study (P value < 0.001). Throughout the follow-up period, the intervention group had a significantly lower score according to OMS-HC (P value = 0.032) and PDMPS questionnaires (P value = 0.002); however for the SDI this difference was not significant (P-value = 0.343). Conclusion The intervention package has a positive effect on students’ attitudes towards psychiatric patients. Adding stigma specific interventions to the routine psychiatric rotations’ curricula can reduce their stigma more fundamentally.