Kaiser Permanente Fremont, Department of Inpatient Pharmacy, 39400 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538, United States; University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
University of California San Francisco, School of Pharmacy, 533 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143-0622, United States; University of California San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, CA 92093, United States.
Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2021 Jun;13(6):711-716. doi: 10.1016/j.cptl.2021.01.029. Epub 2021 Feb 11.
Mental health stigma among healthcare providers remains a significant barrier to patients receiving optimal care for psychiatric conditions. This study's purpose is to evaluate the impact of a psychiatry elective on pharmacy students' attitudes toward patients with mental health disorders.
This study cohort included pharmacy students enrolled in a Special Topics in Psychiatry elective. Attitudes toward mental health disorders were measured at baseline (first day of class) and post-exposure (last day of class) using the 21-item Beliefs toward Mental Illness (BMI) Scale. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare each component of the BMI scale as well as each subscale (dangerousness, poor social and interpersonal skills, and incurability) at baseline and post-exposure.
Fifty-eight pharmacy students (68% response rate) participated in this study. Most respondents were in their first year of the pharmacy program (44%), female (72%), and Asian (59%). There was a statistically significant decline in each BMI subscale at the end of the course: dangerousness, poor interpersonal and social skills, and incurability. There was no significant difference in mean change for the BMI sub-scores by gender, race, or personal experience with mental health disorders.
Incorporating a psychiatry elective into the pharmacy school curriculum can improve attitudes toward patients with mental health disorders. Future areas of research are warranted on the influence of specific components of a psychiatry elective that impact BMI scores and whether this translates to improved quality of care during clinical practice.
医疗保健提供者的心理健康污名仍然是患者接受精神疾病最佳治疗的重大障碍。本研究的目的是评估精神病学选修课程对药学学生对心理健康障碍患者态度的影响。
该研究队列包括参加精神病学专题选修课程的药学学生。使用 21 项信念量表（BMI）在基线（课程第一天）和暴露后（课程最后一天）测量对心理健康障碍的态度。使用 Wilcoxon 符号秩检验比较 BMI 量表的每个组成部分以及每个子量表（危险性、社交和人际交往技能差、不可治愈性）在基线和暴露后的情况。
58 名药学学生（68%的回复率）参加了这项研究。大多数受访者处于药学课程的第一年（44%），女性（72%）和亚洲人（59%）。在课程结束时，每个 BMI 子量表都呈统计学显著下降：危险性、社交和人际交往技能差、不可治愈性。在 BMI 子量表的平均变化方面，性别、种族或个人心理健康障碍经历没有显著差异。
将精神病学选修课程纳入药学学校课程可以改善对心理健康障碍患者的态度。未来需要研究精神病学选修课程的具体组成部分对 BMI 评分的影响，以及这是否转化为临床实践中改善护理质量。
