ECT: Misconceptions and Attitudes

Abstract

One hundred and seventy-eight subjects completed a questionnaire regarding ECT. The sample comprised three groups of approximately equal size: a group of patients who had received ECT, a group of visitors to ECT-treated psychiatric patients, and a group of visitors to non-ECT-treated psychiatric patients. Misconceptions about ECT were common throughout, particularly in the young, those giving films and television as a source of information and those visiting patients not receiving ECT. Fewer misconceptions occurred among those who were more highly educated or had experience of ECT either personally or via a visited friend or relative. Less fear of the procedure was expressed by those given the treatment and those who had the treatment explained to them by a doctor. Over half of the patient group denied having had ECT explained to them.

ECT: Knowledge and Attitude among Patients and their Relatives

“…Reason may be due to patient's mental status prior to ECT, due to which they were not able to retain new information which they were not able to retain new information properly. But despite this contrasting findings, both groups of sample "felt" satisfied with adequate information received about ECT 6,11,31,32 .…”

“…Of the total subjects assessed, KAE about ECT ranges as 6% 12 , 7% 13 , 8% 14 , 15% 15 , 17% 16 , 23% 9 , 59% 17 . This study gives evidence of wider KAE among patients and their relatives (written as "subjects" in subsequent paragraphs) toward ECT.…”

Does the Experience of Electroconvulsive Therapy Improve Awareness and Perceptions of Treatment Among Relatives of Patients?

“…Quite a few other investigations have endorsed this assumption by demonstrating improvement in attitudes and/or awareness after successful completion of ECT among patients 1,4,5,18 and less commonly among their relatives. 6 The role of the media in shaping attitudes toward treatment was also initially noted by Kerr et al, 8 who found that patients or relatives who acquired their information about ECT from physicians had much fewer misconceptions and were less scared than those who had obtained their facts from the media. More recently, Bustin et al 9 compared knowledge and attitudes concerning ECT between Argentine, English, and Canadian patients.…”

“…1,4Y6 Moreover, even relatives or friends who have been a part of the process are usually more aware and more favorably disposed toward ECT than those who have never had such experience of ECT. 7,8 Furthermore, it has been proposed that patients or relatives who have had some exposure to ECT have greater access to information provided by their treating physicians. They tend to form their opinions about the treatment based on this information and on their personal experience of ECT.…”

Are patients' attitudes towards and knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy transcultural? A multi‐national pilot study

“…Therefore, attitudes towards and knowledge of ECT will be shaped mostly by the media, relatives or friends. As shown by a previous study, patients who identified the media or a friend as a source of information held more misbelieves and were more afraid of ECT (Kerr et al, 1982).…”