Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioural Responses Towards Mental Illness Among Pharmacy Students in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in South India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background Individuals with mental illness are frequently subjected to discriminatory and stigmatising behaviour in society. Promoting positive attitudes and improving awareness regarding mental illness among health professionals in training are important steps in mitigating stigma towards mental illness. There is a dearth of Indian studies which have looked into these aspects. The observations of the study aimed to assess whether stereotyped views on mental illness pertain among pharmacy students at a tertiary teaching institution in South India. Objective The study evaluates three key aspects related to pharmacy students and mental illness: 1) the attitude of pharmacy students towards individuals with mental illness, 2) their knowledge about mental illness and 3) their behavioural response towards mental illness. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among the students enrolled in Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) and Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) programs in a teaching hospital in south India. Three hundred one completed responses were obtained. The study tools included a socio-demographic proforma, Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitude Scale (MICA-4), Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) and Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS). Results The mean scores obtained on MICA-4, MAKS and RIBS were 44.52 ± 7.662, 45.3156 ± 7.601 and 13.18 ± 4.884, respectively; 59.8% of the participants considered psychiatric patients as dangerous, and 70.1% of the respondents reported that they were capable of guiding a friend with a mental illness in accessing professional help. Female students had significantly lower MICA-4 scores than males (p = 0.001). First-year students had significantly lower RIBS scores as compared to the students in the second to the sixth years of study (p = 0.004). Conclusion Negative attitudes, stigmatising beliefs and behaviour towards mental illness are prevalent among future pharmacists. It is the need of the hour to ensure that mental health-related content and contact-based education aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination receive due emphasis as part of the pharmacy curriculum in the country.