Mental Health Professionals' Attitudes Towards People with Severe Mental Illness: Are they Related to Professional Quality of Life?

First Responder Attitudes Regarding Working Near a Supervised Injection Facility: Relationship to Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Compassion Satisfaction

BACKGROUND

Emergency responders are the most frequent overdose responders, however, little is known about the impact of supervised injection facility (SIF) location on first responders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether firefighter/paramedic attitudes about being stationed near an SIF were related to burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction.

METHODS

Firefighter/paramedics from Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (n = 54) completed an online survey. General linear models were used to assess differences in burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction based on attitudes regarding being stationed near an SIF while controlling for occupational stress.

FINDINGS

Firefighters with negative attitudes regarding station placement near an SIF experienced more burnout compared with those with neutral/mixed attitudes and less compassion satisfaction compared with those with positive attitudes. There were no differences between those with positive and neutral/mixed attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings have implications for education and training of emergency responders stationed near SIFs. They also highlight the need for more research into the effects of and possible clinical opportunities needed to support first responders' work near an SIF.

APPLICATION TO PRACTICE

While these findings represent early exploratory evidence, increased burnout and reduced compassion satisfaction may be common reactions among first responders who experience negative attitudes toward SIFs. Prevention efforts could incorporate programs to enhance health and well-being of first responders and education regarding substance use and harm reduction, while workforce surveillance for signs of distress or burnout could be implemented to trigger additional mental health services and interventions. while policymakers should remain aware of SIF-related impacts on all stakeholders, including first responders.

Mental illness through the perspective of undergraduate medical students in Greece: a cross-sectional study at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Introduction

Numerous studies reveal that mental health-related stigma, stereotypes, and prejudices negatively affect the patients, jeopardizing their health, prognosis, and social opportunities. Healthcare professionals, who are in the first line of combating mental disease, are expected to play a significant role in drastically changing discriminatory and stigmatizing attitudes toward psychiatric patients and in diminishing the existing healthcare and social disparities. In this study, we aimed to explore and highlight the views of Greek medical students-that is of the future physicians-toward mental illness and people suffering from it.

Materials and methods

It is a cross-sectional, observational study, in which 324 undergraduate students from the most populous Greek medical school of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, participated online, during the spring semester of 2022. The tools used were the Opinions about Mental Illness Scale (OMI) that assesses one's viewpoints about mental illness, the Social Distance Scale (SDS) that captures the desired degree of social distancing from patients with mental disorders, and the Level of Contact Report (LCR-12) that estimates the level of familiarity with them.

Results

Participants displayed rather positive attitudes regarding the etiology of mental illness, social integration, and discrimination toward psychiatric patients [as evaluated with the respective OMI subscales; Etiology mean score (μ):8.87 ± 4.68, Social Integration (μ):17.79 ± 5.42, Social Discrimination (μ):13.54 ± 11.17], and more clearly favorable opinions concerning the need for social provision or the enactment of restrictive measures [as expressed with the relative OMI subscales; Social Care (μ):22.74 ± 4.56, Social Restriction (μ):13.27 ± 8.98], while claiming to be quite familiar with mental disorders and individuals experiencing them (as assessed with LCR; μ: 8.71 ± 2.16), and relatively willing to interact with them (as measured with SDS; μ:8.95 ± 4.23). Degree of familiarity with mental illness was directly proportional to the desire for contact with patients living with it, while the higher both were, the more improved most of the aforementioned OMI sectors were found to be. Female sex, clinical medical education, previous clinical psychiatric training, and living with or being a person with a mental disorder were the factors that defined a statistically refined profile in many of the aspects above.

Conclusion

Our findings are in accordance with many prior and recent studies, while showing improved opinions compared to those of previous research in Greek student and healthcare population. They are calling for vigilance, rather than complacency, as well as educational and social interventions, in order to enable current and future healthcare professionals to perform their function to its fullest extent. Implications of our results and further research suggestions are included.

Mental health-related stigma discrimination and prejudices among Greek healthcare professionals

INTRODUCTION

Research shows that mental health-related stigma, stereotypes, and prejudices have a negative impact on the patients themselves as well as on their families and social entourage. Healthcare professionals, whose expertise and professional ethos are historically acknowledged by public opinion, are expected to play a major role in combating discrimination against psychiatric patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the attitudes of Greek healthcare professionals toward mental illness and people suffering from it.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

It is a non-interventional, analytic study, in which 479 health workers from a tertiary hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece, participated. Every single hospital service -except the personnel of the Psychiatric Clinic- was included in our study: from the cleaning service to the administrative staff and the auxiliary staff such as stretcher carriers, food and nutrition services' staff, and social workers, the nursing staff, and finally the attending physicians, taking into consideration that the psychiatric patient, from the moment he/she enters the hospital, consecutively gets in contact with every work grade of the healthcare establishment. Participants' attitudes concerning mental illness have been evaluated using the Opinions about Mental Illness Scale (OMI), the Social Distance Scale (SDS), and the Level of Contact Report (LCR-12).

RESULTS

Despite the high level of familiarity [as evaluated with LCR-12; mean score (μ): 8.82 ± 1.73], the employees displayed a rather poor willingness to interact with psychiatric patients (as measured with SDS; μ:11.68 ± 4.28), and endorsed significant prejudice toward individuals with mental disorders (assessed using OMI subscales; Social Discrimination μ: 22.99 ± 12.08, Social Restriction μ: 17.45 ± 9.07, Social Care μ: 21.04 ± 4.12, Social Integration μ: 16.38 ± 4.68, Etiology μ: 9.80 ± 4.95). Age and education stood out as the main determinants of participants' attitudes, with younger and highly educated participants to have shown a relatively refined profile.

CONCLUSION

These results are not significantly improved compared to those of previous decades in Greek healthcare professionals and call for critical reflection and targeted stigma-reduction efforts.