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Development of a measure of stigma towards occupational stress for mental health professionals.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:Stigma is a common barrier to mental health professionals (MHPs) seeking help for occupational stress and burnout, although there is a lack of psychometrically sound tools to measure this construct. The current study aimed to develop and validate a scale (the Mental Health Professional Stigma Scale; MHPSS) for this purpose. METHODS:The MHPSS and related measures were completed by 221 Australian MHPs via online survey, with a subsample completing the MHPSS again 2 weeks after initial completion. RESULTS:Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor solution, comprising of 13 items and accounting for 50.16% of variance. Factors were Perceived Other Stigma, Perceived Structural Stigma, Personal Stigma, and Self stigma. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and validity of the scale were supported. CONCLUSIONS:The MHPSS has utility to capture stigmatising attitudes and beliefs related to occupational stress and burnout among MHPs. It may be used to assist in the development and evaluation of initiatives to reduce stigma and increase help-seeking among MHPs.

SUBMITTER: Clough BA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7224121 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Development of a measure of stigma towards occupational stress for mental health professionals.

Clough Bonnie A BA Hill Melissa M Delaney Matthew M Casey Leanne M LM

Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology 20200102 7

<h4>Purpose</h4>Stigma is a common barrier to mental health professionals (MHPs) seeking help for occupational stress and burnout, although there is a lack of psychometrically sound tools to measure this construct. The current study aimed to develop and validate a scale (the Mental Health Professional Stigma Scale; MHPSS) for this purpose.<h4>Methods</h4>The MHPSS and related measures were completed by 221 Australian MHPs via online survey, with a subsample completing the MHPSS again 2 weeks aft ...[more]

PMID: 31897577

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Project description:IntroductionResearch shows that mental health-related stigma, stereotypes, and prejudices have a negative impact on the patients themselves as well as on their families and social entourage. Healthcare professionals, whose expertise and professional ethos are historically acknowledged by public opinion, are expected to play a major role in combating discrimination against psychiatric patients. In this study, we aimed to assess the attitudes of Greek healthcare professionals toward mental illness and people suffering from it.Materials and methodsIt is a non-interventional, analytic study, in which 479 health workers from a tertiary hospital in Thessaloniki, Greece, participated. Every single hospital service -except the personnel of the Psychiatric Clinic- was included in our study: from the cleaning service to the administrative staff and the auxiliary staff such as stretcher carriers, food and nutrition services' staff, and social workers, the nursing staff, and finally the attending physicians, taking into consideration that the psychiatric patient, from the moment he/she enters the hospital, consecutively gets in contact with every work grade of the healthcare establishment. Participants' attitudes concerning mental illness have been evaluated using the Opinions about Mental Illness Scale (OMI), the Social Distance Scale (SDS), and the Level of Contact Report (LCR-12).ResultsDespite the high level of familiarity [as evaluated with LCR-12; mean score (μ): 8.82 ± 1.73], the employees displayed a rather poor willingness to interact with psychiatric patients (as measured with SDS; μ:11.68 ± 4.28), and endorsed significant prejudice toward individuals with mental disorders (assessed using OMI subscales; Social Discrimination μ: 22.99 ± 12.08, Social Restriction μ: 17.45 ± 9.07, Social Care μ: 21.04 ± 4.12, Social Integration μ: 16.38 ± 4.68, Etiology μ: 9.80 ± 4.95). Age and education stood out as the main determinants of participants' attitudes, with younger and highly educated participants to have shown a relatively refined profile.ConclusionThese results are not significantly improved compared to those of previous decades in Greek healthcare professionals and call for critical reflection and targeted stigma-reduction efforts.

Project description:Objectives(1) Investigate and explore whether different classes of associative stigma (the process by which a person experiences stigmatisation as a result of an association with another stigmatised person) could be identified using latent class analysis; (2) determine the sociodemographic and employment-related correlates of associative stigma and (3) examine the relationship between associative stigma and job satisfaction, among mental health professionals.DesignCross-sectional online survey.ParticipantsDoctors, nurses and allied health staff, working in Singapore.MethodsStaff (n=462) completed an online survey, which comprised 11 associative stigma items and also captured sociodemographic and job satisfaction-related information. Latent class analysis was used to classify associative stigma on patterns of observed categorical variables. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations between sociodemographic and employment-related factors and the different classes, while multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between associative stigma and job satisfaction.ResultsThe latent class analysis revealed that items formed a three-class model where the classes were classified as 'no/low associative stigma', 'moderate associative stigma' and 'high associative stigma'. 48.7%, 40.5% and 10.8% of the population comprised no/low, moderate and high associative stigma classes, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression showed that years of service and occupation were significantly associated with moderate associative stigma, while factors associated with high associative stigma were education, ethnicity and occupation. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that high associative stigma was significantly associated with lower job satisfaction scores.ConclusionAssociative stigma was not uncommon among mental health professionals and was associated with sociodemographic factors and poorer job satisfaction. Associative stigma has received comparatively little attention from empirical researchers and continued efforts to address this understudied yet important construct in conjunction with future efforts to dispel misconceptions related to mental illnesses are needed.

Project description:BackgroundMental health stigma is one of the most prominent barriers to recovery, and it is widely known that stigma may manifest differentially in different cultures. Healthcare professionals working closely with persons with mental illnesses (PMI) may provide important insights towards stigma that are otherwise unattainable from caregivers and consumers. However, there is a dearth of literature on healthcare professionals' perspectives on this topic. Thus, this study uses a multilevel approach to explore how stigma affects recovery from the perspectives of healthcare professionals that work closely with PMI in Singapore.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 17 healthcare professionals who were working in mental health settings in Singapore. Participants were recruited via direct email invitation or through snowball sampling. Data collected was analysed with the inductive thematic analysis method. All coding and inter-rater analyses were performed with NVivo.ResultsThe current study themes identified stigma-related factors that influence PMI's recovery from the perspectives of healthcare professionals working closely with PMI. These factors were organised into three overarching themes in a multilevel structure. The three themes were classified as Micro Factors (e.g., internalised stigma), Meso Factors (e.g., discrimination of people associated with the stigmatised group), and Macro Factors (e.g., structural stigma and stigma within healthcare settings).ConclusionsThe findings of this study gave us a greater understanding of how stigma influences recovery in Singapore, which could be used to guide the development and implementation of future policies and strategies to promote recovery. Importantly, our results suggest that improving mental health literacy, addressing cultural misgivings towards mental illness, implementing recovery-oriented practices, and making insurance more accessible for PMI could mitigate the deleterious impact that stigma has on recovery.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Successfully implementing eMental health (eMH) interventions in routine mental health care constitutes a major challenge. Reliable instruments to assess implementation progress are essential. The Normalization MeAsure Development (NoMAD) study developed a brief self-report questionnaire that could be helpful in measuring implementation progress. Based on the Normalization Process Theory, this instrument focuses on 4 generative mechanisms involved in implementation processes: coherence, cognitive participation, collective action, and reflexive monitoring. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to translate the NoMAD questionnaire to Dutch and to confirm the factor structure in Dutch mental health care settings. METHODS:Dutch mental health care professionals involved in eMH implementation were invited to complete the translated NoMAD questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to verify interpretability of scale scores for 3 models: (1) the theoretical 4-factor structure, (2) a unidimensional model, and (3) a hierarchical model. Potential improvements were explored, and correlated scale scores with 3 control questions were used to assess convergent validity. RESULTS:A total of 262 professionals from mental health care settings in the Netherlands completed the questionnaire (female: 81.7%; mean age: 45 [SD=11]). The internal consistency of the 20-item questionnaire was acceptable (.62≤alpha≤.85). The theorized 4-factor model fitted the data slightly better in the CFA than the hierarchical model (Comparative Fit Index=0.90, Tucker Lewis Index=0.88, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation=0.10, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual=0.12, χ22=22.5, P≤.05). However, the difference is small and possibly not outweighing the practical relevance of a total score and subscale scores combined in one hierarchical model. One item was identified as weak (λCA.2=0.10). A moderate-to-strong convergent validity with 3 control questions was found for the Collective Participation scale (.47≤r≤.54, P≤.05). CONCLUSIONS:NoMAD's theoretical factor structure was confirmed in Dutch mental health settings to acceptable standards but with room for improvement. The hierarchical model might prove useful in increasing the practical utility of the NoMAD questionnaire by combining a total score with information on the 4 generative mechanisms. Future research should assess the predictive value and responsiveness over time and elucidate the conceptual interpretability of NoMAD in eMH implementation practices.

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Development of a measure of stigma towards occupational stress for mental health professionals.

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Development of a measure of stigma towards occupational stress for mental health professionals.

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