Staff attitudes towards patients with schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION: Stigmatizing attitudes have been reported in international studies among staff in psychiatry. The authors wanted to investigate if this was the case in Denmark. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey of attitudes among staff at two psychiatric units in Copenhagen was performed using the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes scales. The scales have 16 questions to which another four questions were added by the authors. RESULTS: A total of 548 staff members answered the questions (61 doctors and 487 other professionals). The majority of the respondents believed in the possibility of recovery for patients and only a minority associated a high degree of dangerousness with schizophrenia. The cause of the illness was mainly regarded as being biological, but all agreed to a bio-psycho-social aetiological approach. The majority of the respondents believed that the illness was chronic and agreed on the need for staff to also be aware of patients' somatic illness. The doctors did not question their role as "real doctors" or the scientific basis for psychiatry. The majority would not mind working with a colleague with schizophrenia, but about half would hesitate to disclose if they themselves were diagnosed with the illness. Being a women working in community psychiatry with long experience and participation in a recovery educational programme were associated with less stigmatizing attitudes. CONCLUSION: The survey showed a relatively low level of stigmatizing attitudes. This runs counter to the results from international investigation. This trend could be interpreted both as a result of a shift towards a more recovery-oriented approach to treatment as well as a reflection of political correctness.