Impact of Two Weeks Psychiatric Clinical Posting on Intern Doctors’ Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Psychiatry and Mental Illnesses

Abstract

Background: Today, mental disorders are attached with negative and stigmatising attitudes, which are often due to lack of knowledge about mental illness. Prevailing negative attitude worldwide is the important reason, especially in developing countries such as India, where very little attention has been paid to the way attitudes of students are influenced by a clinical posting in psychiatry. As the intern doctors can play an important role in reduction of negative attitude and stigma, it’s mandatory to study their knowledge and attitude and the findings of the study will help to focus strategies to change attitudes in this group.

Aims: To know the knowledge and attitude of intern doctors towards psychiatry before and after their 2 weeks psychiatry posting and to address the issue whether a 2 weeks posting is sufficient to favourably influence attitudes

Methods and Material: For study, over a period of 12 months, all 110 interns, who attended psychiatry posting for the 1st time in their internship, in a tertiary care centre in western India were approached amongst which 93 (33 males and 60 females) consented to be a part. Attitude and knowledge was measured with 49 items questionnaire on the 1st day and last day of their regular posting. The data thus collected was analysed by SPSS version 20.

Results: Knowledge improved about schizophrenia, ECT, alcohol dependence, psychiatric drugs. Stigmatising attitudes towards psychiatric disorders decreased. Significant number of intern doctors agreed that a psychiatric diagnosis does not lead to stigma and mental illness is not an acceptable reason for divorce. There was no statistically significant change in the other questions asked. As the exposure to psychiatry increases, overall knowledge and positive attitude toward psychiatry increases.

Conclusions: Knowledge improved about schizophrenia, ECT, alcohol dependence, psychiatric drugs. Stigmatising attitudes towards psychiatric disorders decreased but there was no statistically significant change in majority of the questions asked. 2 weeks psychiatry posting was successful in bringing about some positive changes. A longer duration psychiatry posting is necessary to bring about more robust changes in knowledge and attitude.