Benita A. Bamgbade

Impact of a Mental Illness Stigma Awareness Intervention on Pharmacy Student Attitudes and Knowledge

Objective. To determine if exposure to an intervention course impacts pharmacy students’ mental health stigma (MHS) and mental health knowledge (MHK). Methods. A one-group pre/posttest intervention study of third-year pharmacy students (N=120) was conducted. Dependent variables were subdomains of MHS (recovery, safety, disclosure, separation, comfort) which were measured on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 5=strongly agree). Mental health knowledge was measured with 10 true/false questions. The 2.5-hour intervention included presentations, videos, discussions, and active-learning exercises. Pre/posttests were administered, and data were analyzed using paired t tests and McNemar’s tests. Results. Among responding students (n=88; 73.3% response rate), the following stigma subdomains significantly decreased after the intervention for depression and schizophrenia: recovery, safety, separation, and comfort. Mental health knowledge scores significantly increased from 5.9 (1.5) to 6.8 (1.5). Conclusion. Pharmacy students’ MHS and MHK related to depression and schizophrenia can be improved through a brief and interactive anti-stigma intervention.

Using Visual Metaphors in Health Messages: A Strategy to Increase Effectiveness for Mental Illness Communication

Depression is highly prevalent among college students. Although treatment is often available on university campuses, many stigma-based barriers prevent students from seeking help. Communication strategies, such as the use of metaphors, are needed to reduce barriers. Specially, the use of visual metaphors, as a strategic message design tactic, may be an effective communication strategy to increase message appeal and engagement. Using a 2-phase approach, this study first identified common metaphors students use to conceptualize mental illness. Messages incorporating conceptual and visual metaphors were then designed and tested to determine their potential in reducing stigma. Participants (n = 256) were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions in a between-subjects experiment: messages with visual and textual metaphors, messages with straightforward visuals and textual metaphors, text-based metaphor messages, or a control group. Overall, metaphorical messages are appealing, the use of visual metaphors leads to greater message engagement, and messages based on conceptual metaphors have the potential to reduce stigma. The use of conceptual and visual metaphors in campaign design is an effective strategy to communicate about a complex health topic, such as mental illness, and should be considered for use in campaigns to reduce barriers for help-seeking behavior.

Predictors of prostate cancer screening using Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use

PURPOSE The purposes of the study were to examine the prevalence of prostate cancer screening (PCS) in the United States and to identify predictors of PCS guided by Andersens Behavioral Model of Health Services Use (ABM). METHODS PCS rates were analyzed in men (aged ≥40y) using 2014 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Descriptive analysis was conducted using sampling weights to determine the prevalence of PCS (i.e., had a prostate-specific antigen test). Multiple logistic regression within the framework of ABM was used to identify predictors of PCS. The ABM variables of predisposing (e.g., age), enabling (e.g., health insurance), and need (e.g., comorbidities) comprised the independent variables. RESULTS Among the 131,415 men, 62.4% (N = 82,014) reported that they had a prostate-specific antigen test in the last 2 years. Among predisposing factors, age, education, income, and employment status were significantly associated with undergoing PCS. Informed decision-making process, health care coverage, regular health care provider, and length of time since last routine checkup were significant enabling factors. Health care provider recommendation and previous cancer diagnosis were significant need factors. CONCLUSIONS Most older men in the United States had previously engaged in PCS. Several ABM variables were predictive of PCS and should be considered when developing future strategies to encourage PCS in at-risk men with the recommended life expectancies. Such strategies should also ensure that the decision to undergo PCS is an informed process between patients and their health care providers.

Evaluating the Impact of an Anti-stigma Intervention on Pharmacy Students’ Willingness to Counsel People Living with Mental Illness

Third-year pharmacy students (n = 88) participated in an anti-stigma intervention program consisting of presentations, videos, discussion and active-learning exercises. Willingness to counsel (WTC) people with mental illness (MI) was evaluated using immediate pre and post-tests comparing diabetes, depression and schizophrenia. At pre-test, WTC diabetes was highest (higher = increased WTC) while schizophrenia was the lowest. There were no statistically significant differences between pre/post-test WTC for diabetes and depression, while schizophrenia WTC increased significantly (p < 0.05). At post-test, diabetes WTC was significantly higher than depression and schizophrenia (p < 0.0001). Regression results for WTC depression showed that comfortability and gender were significant (p < 0.05) predictors. Regression results for WTC schizophrenia showed that comfortability was a significant (p < 0.05) predictor. As highly accessible healthcare providers, pharmacists have the potential to positively impact healthcare, but this depends on WTC. Colleges of pharmacy may consider instituting policies that support experiential education involving counseling people living with MI, as this may increase comfortability.