Decreasing primary care providers’ stigma of mental illness

Abstract

<p>A recent study has indicated that primary care providers hold comparable and possibly more negative attitudes towards persons with mental illness than the general public (Mittal et al., 2016b). Because of their regular interactions with patients with mental illness, providers stigmatizing attitudes has been implicated as a primary factor behind healthcare disparities for this population (Flanagan et al., 2016; Lebowitz &amp; Ahn, 2016). Effective interventions at decreasing mental health stigma needs to be researched, evaluated, and implemented in primary care settings (Beaulieu et al., 2017). An analysis of the literature was done to answer the question,&ldquo;What interventions are effective in decreasing the stigma of mental illness among primary care providers?&rdquo; Hildegard Peplau&rsquo;s theory of interpersonal relations was used as a framework in this review to describe how provider&rsquo;s interactions with patients can have a significant impact on the patient&rsquo;s well-being (Peplau, 1992). Studies in this integrative review have identified social contact-based, skills-based, and biologically-based interventions as demonstrating success at reducing stigma among providers (Flanagan et al., 2016; Knaak, Mantler &amp; Szeto, 2017; Lam, Lam, Lam &amp; Sun, 2015). Key ingredients to include in anti-stigma interventions for providers have also been identified in this review (Knaak et al., 2017; Knaak &amp; Patten, 2016). Providers may implement these interventions in their own practices to potentially decrease stigma against persons with mental illness and improve quality of care in the primary care setting.&nbsp;</p>