Psychiatric treatment as anti-stigma intervention: Objective assessment of stigma by families

Abstract

Background: Stigma related to mental illness is linked with suicide, violence, and lack of self-care, and thus should be treated as a clinical condition. For effective intervention, objective information about the impact of stigma is required in order to offer the best client-centered care. Objective: The present study seeks to answer the question of how stigma and discrimination are perceived to be experienced by their patient family members, to determine factors helpful for development of antistigma intervention programs. Materials and Methods: Three hundred family members of patients with schizophrenia provided their perceptions on aspects of stigma including anti-stigma interventions. There were two types of intervention strategies suggested (1) clinical measures and (2) public health measures. The predominant strategy was clinical measures which encompassed areas of availability of treatment, complete treatment, relapse prevention, and early intervention. Results: Furthermore, caregivers' emotional involvement (64.8%) in treatment was seen as an important measure to reduce stigma. No social and public awareness is going to bring change in patients' lives if stigma is not addressed at an individual level in a client-centric manner. Conclusion: The responses of patient relatives clearly bring out this opinion when they suggest potential treatment components as intervention measures.