Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T05:21:23.865Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Helpfulness of interventions for mental disorders: Beliefs of health professionals compared with the general public

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

Anthony F. Jorm ,
Ailsa E. Korten ,
Patricia A. Jacomb ,
Bryan Rodgers ,
Penelope Pollitt ,
Helen Christensen  and
Scott Henderson
Anthony F. Jorm*
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Ailsa E. Korten
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Patricia A. Jacomb
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Bryan Rodgers
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Penelope Pollitt
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Helen Christensen
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Scott Henderson
Affiliation:
NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
*
Dr A. F. Jorm, NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, The Australian National University, Canberra 0200, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

The study aimed to compare the beliefs of health professionals about the potential helpfulness of various mental health interventions with those of the general public.

Method

Surveys were carried out in Australia of 872 general practitioners, 1128 psychiatrists, 454 clinical psychologists and 2031 members of the public. Respondents were presented with a case vignette describing either a person with depression or one with schizophrenia. Respondents were asked to rate the likely helpfulness of various types of professional and nonprofessional help and of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

Results

The professionals gave much higher ratings than the public to the helpfulness of antidepressants for depression, and of antipsychotics and admission to a psychiatric ward for schizophrenia. Conversely, the public tended to give much more favourable ratings to vitamins and minerals and special diets for both depression and schizophrenia, and to reading self-help books for schizophrenia.

Conclusion

The beliefs that health practitioners hold about mental disorders differ greatly from those of the general public. There is a need for mental health education campaigns to help close the gap between professional and public beliefs.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 171 , Issue 3 , September 1997 , pp. 233 - 237
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM–IV). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Angermeyer, M. C. & Matschinger, H. (1996) Public attitude towards psychiatric treatment. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 94, 326–336.Google Scholar
Jorm, A. F., Korten, A. E., Jacomb, P. A., et al (1997) Mental health literacy: a survey of the public's ability to recognise mental disorders and their beliefs about the effectiveness of treatment. Medical Journal of Australia. 166, 182–186.Google Scholar
McKeon, P. & Carrick, S. (1991) Public attitudes to depression: a national survey. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 8, 116–121.Google Scholar
Regier, D. A., Hirschfeld, R. M., Goodwin, F. K., et al (1988) The NIMH depression awareness, recognition, and treatment program: structure, aims, and scientific basis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 1351–1357.Google Scholar
Sims, A. (1993) The scar that is more than skin deep: the stigma of depression. British Journal of General Practice, 43, 30–31.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (1993) The ICD–10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. Diagnostic Criteria for Research. Geneva: WHO.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.