Attitudes of mental healthcare professionals and media professionals towards each other in reducing social stigma due to mental illness in Bangladesh

Abstract

Mental illness is a neglected issue all over the world. The development of negligence towards mental illness could be due to the stigmatized attitudes. Also, social stigma due to mental illness is prevalent in many south Asian countries. In Bangladesh, the condition is even worse than regional data in Asia. The general people consider media as a primary source of information about mental health. However, mental health professionals (MHP) have direct contact with psychiatric patients and their family members. Therefore, both MHP and media professionals (MP) have a role in reducing social stigma due to mental illness. The present study aimed to identify attitudes of MHP and MP towards each other in reducing social stigma due to mental illness. We conducted a cross‐sectional online survey among 174 participants (80 MHP and 94 MP). We used two sets of self‐reporting questionnaires to assess the attitudes of MHP and MP towards one another. Also, we collected and analyzed sociodemographic profiles of study participants. We observed significant differences in terms of their profession‐related statements between MHP and MP. Also, we have seen significant gaps between MHP and MP in terms of their complete agreement on attitude‐related aspects. However, most respondents agreed that stigma due to mental illness is a vital problem in Bangladesh. Moreover, maximum participants accepted that the current public images about psychiatry and media role in reducing social stigma need to be improved. We observed gap between MHP and MP in their roles and beliefs in reducing social stigma due to mental illness in Bangladesh. Reciprocal training and awareness programs would help them in reducing social stigma due to mental illness. The findings of the present study would help to sort out the possible areas for interventions. However, the present study has few limitations; therefore, we recommend further studies with more homogeneous and large samples to make better conclusion.

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