University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, College Park, 20742, USA.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2011 May 10;75(4):72. doi: 10.5688/ajpe75472.
To determine whether an elective course on mental health could reduce pharmacy students' social distance toward people with severe mental illness.
Course activities included assigned readings, class discussions, student presentations, review of video and other media for examples of social distance, presentations by patients with mental illness, and visits to hospitalized patients in a variety of psychiatric settings.
The Social Distance Scale (SDS) was administered at the beginning and end of the semester to students enrolled in the elective and to a comparator group of students not enrolled in the course. Pharmacy students who did not complete the elective had significantly higher SDS scores than students who completed the elective (18.7 vs. 15.6, p < 0.001). Students enrolled in the course had lower precourse SDS scores, were more likely than their peers to have a personal association with mental illness, and had a decrease in precourse to postcourse scores.
A course designed to reduce stigma towards the mentally ill can reduce pharmacy students' social distance.
确定心理健康选修课程是否可以减少药学专业学生对严重精神疾病患者的社会距离。
课程活动包括指定阅读、课堂讨论、学生演讲、观看视频和其他媒体以了解社会距离的例子、精神疾病患者的演讲以及访问各种精神科住院患者。
在学期开始和结束时，向选修该课程的学生和未选修该课程的对照组学生发放社会距离量表（SDS）。未完成选修课程的药学专业学生的 SDS 评分明显高于完成选修课程的学生（18.7 对 15.6，p<0.001）。选修该课程的学生在课程开始前的 SDS 评分较低，与精神疾病有个人关联的可能性大于他们的同龄人，并且在课程开始前到课程结束后的评分有所下降。
旨在减少对精神病患者的污名化的课程可以减少药学专业学生的社会距离。
