Schizophrenia: people's perceptions in Quebec

• Published in: Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) Vol. 164; no. 9; pp. 1299 - 1300
• Main Authors: Stip, E, Caron, J, Lane, C J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada CMA Impact, Inc 01.05.2001
• Series: Research letter
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Attitude to Health; Educational Status; Fear; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prejudice; Public opinion; Quebec; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - etiology; Schizophrenia - therapy; Social aspects; Surveys and Questionnaires; Quebec
• ISSN: 0820-3946; 1488-2329

The public's attitude toward mental illnesses such as schizophrenia is important if the community-based treatment of mental illness is to succeed.1-3 Research suggests that patients with mental illness achieve better integration in neighbourhoods where people accept them as neighbours and believe that mental illness is best treated in the community as opposed to institutions.4-6 In Quebec, the last survey on public attitudes toward mental illness was completed in 1980.7 At that time, 70% of the people surveyed felt that they had inaccurate information regarding mentally ill people; this was alluded to in the report by the respondents identifying "lack of will" as the main cause of mental illness. Usually the public's reluctance to interact with mentally ill people increases with the closeness of the type of relationship.1,4,7 In partnership with the Societe quebecoise de schizophrenie (SQS), Lundbeck Canada and SOM (a survey and research institute), a survey was conducted to determine the current knowledge and attitudes of the Quebec population toward mental illness. In this article we focus on responses regarding schizophrenia. Dr. Stip is with the Department of Psychiatry, Universite de Montreal, the Centre de recherche Fernand-Seguin, Hopital Louis-H. Lafontaine, Montreal, Que., and the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Dr. Caron is with the Departement des sciences du comportement, Universite du Quebec en Abitibi-Temiscamingue, the Centre de recherche de l'Hopital Douglas and McGill University, Montreal, Que. At the time of writing, Dr. Lane was with the Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. Competing interests: None declared.