Healthcare Providers' Attitudes Toward Persons With Schizophrenia

Objective: This study compared the attitudes of mental health and primary care providers toward persons with schizophrenia at 5 Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional anonymous survey, including clinical vignettes describing identical patient scenarios for a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatric rehabilitation journal 2014-12, Vol.37 (4), p.297-303
Main Authors: Mittal, Dinesh, Corrigan, Patrick, Sherman, Michelle D., Chekuri, Lakshminarayana, Han, Xiaotong, Reaves, Christina, Mukherjee, Snigdha, Morris, Scott, Sullivan, Greer
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Objective: This study compared the attitudes of mental health and primary care providers toward persons with schizophrenia at 5 Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional anonymous survey, including clinical vignettes describing identical patient scenarios for a hypothetical patient with and without schizophrenia, to examine the differences in attitudes of primary care and mental health providers. The survey was distributed in 3 waves from August 2011 to April 2012. Participants included 351 VA providers from 5 VA medical centers, including 205 mental health providers (psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health nurses) and 146 primary care providers (nurses and physicians). Providers' attitudes were assessed on 3 domains, including social distance, stereotyping, and attribution of mental illness. Results: Primary care providers had significantly more negative attitudes toward the vignette patient with schizophrenia compared with the patient without schizophrenia on 2 of 3 attitude measures (stereotyping and attribution of mental illness); however, this difference was not observed for mental health providers on the 2 measures. Conclusions and Implication for Practice: Primary care providers' negative attitudes toward individuals with schizophrenia represent a potential target for interventions to reduce disparities in care for individuals with schizophrenia.
ISSN:1095-158X
1559-3126
DOI:10.1037/prj0000095