Attitudes of Japanese Pharmacy Students Toward Mental Illness
Keywords:
attitude, Japan, mentally ill persons, pharmacy students, social distanceAbstract
Background: Studies have revealed high levels of stigma toward mental illness in Japan, but no study has been conducted with pharmacy students.
Aims: To perform an exploratory study regarding the attitudes of Japanese pharmacy students toward mental illness.
Methods: All students (n=669) at one Japanese pharmacy school were invited to participate in a survey that consisted of the Whatley Social Distance Scale, the Index of Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill, and demographic questions.
Results: The response rate was 100%. All but two items on the scales received overall positive responses. Female students, final -year students, those who had experienced a mental illness, and those who knew a family member or friend who had experienced a mental illness held more favorable mental illness attitudes than students without those characteristics.
Conclusion: The students held generally favorable mental illness attitudes that were comparable to those previously reported in American pharmacy students.
References
Bell, J.S., Johns, R., & Chen, T.F. (2006) Pharmacy students' and graduates' attitudes towards people with schizophrenia and severe depression. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 70, article 77.
Bell, J.S., Johns, R., Rose, G., & Chen, T.F. (2006) A comparative study of consumer participation in mental health pharmacy education. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 40, 1759-1765.
Bell, J.S., Aaltonen, S.E., Bronstein, E., Desplenter, F.A., Foulon, V., Vitola, A., Muceniece, R., Gharat, M.S., Volmer, D., Airaksinen, M.S., & Chen, T.F. (2008) Attitudes of pharmacy students toward people with mental disorders, a six country study. Pharmacy World and Science, 30, 595-599.
Bryant, S.G., Guernsey, B.G., Pearce, E.L., & Hokanson, J.A. (1985) Pharmacists' perceptions of mental health care, psychiatrists, and mentally ill patients. American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 42, 1366-1369.
Buhler, A.V., & Karimi, R.M. (2008) Peer-level patient presenters decrease pharmacy students' social distance from patients with schizophrenia and clinical depression. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 72, article 106.
Cates, M.E., Burton, A.R., & Woolley, T.W. (2005) Attitudes of pharmacists toward mental illness and providing pharmaceutical care to the mentally ill. Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 39, 1450-1455.
Cates, M.E., May, K.L., & Woolley, T.W. (2009) Attitudes of pharmacy students toward mental illness across the professional curriculum. International Journal of Pharmacy Education and Practice, 5.
Crismon, M.L., Jermain, D.M., & Torian, S.J. (1990) Attitudes of pharmacy students toward mental illness. American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 47, 1369-1373.
Desapriya, E.B.R., & Nobutada, I. (2002) Stigma of mental illness in Japan. Lancet, 359, 1866.
Dipaula, B.A., Qian, J., Mehdizadegan, N., & Simoni-Wastila, L. (2011) An elective psychiatric course to reduce pharmacy students' social distance toward people with severe mental illness. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75, article 72.
Einat, H., & George, A. (2008) Positive attitude change toward psychiatry in pharmacy students following an active learning psychopharmacology course. Academic Psychiatry, 32, 515-517.
Gable, K.N., Muhlstadt, K.L., & Celio, M.A. (2011) A mental health elective to improve pharmacy students' perspectives on mental illness. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75, article 34.
Griffiths, K.M., Nakane, Y., Christensen, H., Yoshioka, K., Jorm, A.F., & Nakane, H. (2006) Stigma in response to mental disorders: a comparison of Australia and Japan. BMC Psychiatry, 6, 21.
Hiday, V.A. (1983) Are lawyers enemies of psychiatrists? A survey of civil commitment counsel and judges. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 323-326.
Hori, H., Richards, M., Kawamoto, Y., & Kunugi, H. (2011) Attitudes toward schizophrenia in the general population, psychiatric staff, physicians, and psychiatrists: a web-based survey in Japan. Psychiatry Research, 186, 183-189.
Jermain, D.M., & Crismon, M.L. (1991) Students' attitudes toward the mentally ill before and after clinical rotations. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 55, 45-48.
Kurihara, T., Kato, M., Sakamoto, S., Reverger, R., & Kitamura, T. (2000) Public attitudes towards the mentally ill: a cross-cultural study between Bali and Tokyo. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 54, 547-552.
Kurumatani, T., Ukawa, K., Kawaguchi, Y., Miyata, S., Suzuki, M., Ide, H., Seki, W., Chikamori, E., Hwu, H.-G., Liao, S.-C., Edwards, G.D., Shinfuku, N., & Uemoto, M. (2004) Teachers' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes concerning schizophrenia- a cross-cultural approach in Japan and Taiwan. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39, 402-409.
Ng, C.H. (1997) The stigma of mental illness in Asian cultures. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 31, 382-390.
O'Reilly, C.L., Bell, J.S., & Chen, T.F. (2010) Consumer-led mental health education for pharmacy students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74, article 167.
O'Reilly, C.L., Bell, J.S., Kelly, P.J., & Chen, T.F. (2011) Impact of mental health first aid training on pharmacy students' knowledge, attitudes and self-reported behavior: a controlled trial. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 549-557.
Rickles, N.M., Dube, G.L., McCarter, A., & Olshan, J.S. (2010) Relationship between attitudes toward mental illness and provision of pharmacy services. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 50, 704-713.
Sato, M. (2006) Renaming schizophrenia: a Japanese perspective. World Psychiatry, 5, 53-55.
Whatley, C.D. (1958-59) Social attitudes toward discharged mental patients. Social Problems, 6, 313-320.
