Challenging mental illness stigma in healthcare professionals and students: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective

Stigma among healthcare professionals may lead to poor quality of healthcare services for patients with mental illness. This study conducts a network meta-analysis to estimate the relative efficacy between different types of anti-stigma interventions for healthcare professionals.

Design

Network meta-analysis.

Main Outcome Measures

The attitudes and behavior intension of healthcare professionals toward mental illness.

Results

A total of 18 studies (22 trials) from 9 countries are included in the analysis. In the network meta-analysis, rank probabilities show interventions with indirect contact plus lecture (SUCRA = 81.5%), direct contact plus problem-based learning workshop (SUCRA = 77.4%), and indirect contact (SUCRA = 72.2%) having the highest probability of being ranked first, second, and third, respectively.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that education combining social contact is the most effective anti-stigma intervention, which can be implemented in clinical practices to help reduce this stigma and improve healthcare services for patients with mental illness.

Keywords:

• Mental illness stigma
• medical education
• mental health
• systematic reviews

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data

All the data supporting the findings of this meta-analysis have been provided in Tables and Figures.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 107-2410-H-003-022-).