Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill: A Comparative Study Between Medical Officers and Nurses in the Ahmedabad City of Gujarat

Abstract

Context: Medical Officers (MO) and nurses are the most important contact of healthcare for all patients, including Mentally Ill persons. Therefore, it is important to analyze their attitudes towards MI.

Aims: To assess and compare the attitudes of MO and nurses on the community attitude toward the mentally Ill (CAMI) scale.

Settings and Design: The study was cross-sectional and census sampling was used to collect data.

Methods and Material: The study was conducted on 67 MO and 85 nurses of 74 urban primary health centers in Ahmedabad. The questionnaire comprised socio-demographic data and the CAMI scale.

Statistical analysis: The frequency of each item and mean (SD) of all subscales were calculated for both groups. T-test and ANOVA were applied to compare socio-demographic data with the CAMI scale.

Results: Mean (SD) of authoritarianism (AU), benevolence (BE), social restrictiveness (SR), and Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI) subscales were 24.97 (±3.14), 36.69 (±33.69), 21.61 (±3.76), 38.52 (±3.74) respectively for MO and 29.13 (±3.87), 35.51 (±4.17), 23.64 (±4.36), 36.01 (±4.37), respectively for nurses (p-value is <0.05 in AU, SR and CMHI). Joint families, rural areas, lower education and higher income are associated with higher stigma.

Conclusion: Although we found NA among nurses as compared to MO, it is highly prevalent in both groups. This requires widespread mental health educational programs by tertiary care hospitals and psychiatrists under the District Mental Health Program.

Key Messages: MO and nurses displayed stigmatizing attitudes toward MI in ample questions of the CAMI scale, especially in AU and SR subscales. This necessitates training them under DMHP.