Healthcare providers' attitudes toward persons with schizophrenia

• Published in: Psychiatric rehabilitation journal Vol. 37; no. 4; p. 297
• Main Authors: Mittal, Dinesh, Corrigan, Patrick, Sherman, Michelle D, Chekuri, Lakshminarayana, Han, Xiaotong, Reaves, Christina, Mukherjee, Snigdha, Morris, Scott, Sullivan, Greer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.12.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Physicians, Primary Care - psychology; Schizophrenia; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans - psychology; United States
• ISSN: 1559-3126
• DOI: 10.1037/prj0000095

This study compared the attitudes of mental health and primary care providers toward persons with schizophrenia at 5 Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. 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. 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.