Abstract
It is common knowledge that people with psychiatric illnesses are stigmatized by a
broad spectrum of society. The purpose of this study was to assess the beliefs of
undergraduate students toward people with mental illnesses, and determine the impact
of psychiatric education and clinical practice on their beliefs. A Quasi-Experimental,
single-group pre-test post-test design was used. The study was performed at a private
school of health sciences in Saudi Arabia. The study sample consisted of 42 students.
For data collection, the Beliefs toward Mental Illness Scale was used. Following the
psychiatric education and clinical practice, the total BMIS and subscale scores were
significantly lower than the scores obtained before the course. There was a statistically
significant difference in the BMIS total scores (t = 2.17, p = 0.001) and subscale scores (Poor social and interpersonal skills: t = 0.78, p = 0.001; Dangerousness: t = 1.17, p = 0.001; Incurability: t = 0.42, p = 0.001) between the pre-test and post-test data. This research indicates
that psychiatric educational intervention using face-to-face interaction and clinical
practice interaction can positively change stigmatizing beliefs of undergraduate students
toward people with mental illnesses.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 05, 2022
Accepted:
May 2,
2022
Received in revised form:
February 15,
2022
Received:
June 2,
2021
Footnotes
☆In this manuscript, the author shows that undergraduate students' beliefs are recognized as one of the main factors that might affect the quality of psychiatric care. This research indicates that psychiatric educational intervention using face-to-face interaction and clinical practice interaction can positively change stigmatizing beliefs of undergraduate students toward people with mental illnesses.
Identification
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