Exploring mental health through the eyes of physiotherapy students: Revealing knowledge and attitudes towards mental health roles

Year 2024, , 142 - 150, 30.09.2024

Ashutosh Singh , Anand Mohan Jha , Deepesh Sharma

https://doi.org/10.24289/ijsser.1512786

Abstract

The social stigma associated with mental illness leads to a reluctance to seek help and can negatively impact the therapeutic connections between individuals with mental illness and healthcare practitioners. With the rising prevalence of mental health illness, physiotherapy students will encounter a growing number of these patients during their undergraduate education. A cross-sectional online survey was done on undergraduate physiotherapy students using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule and Mental Illness Clinicians' Attitudes scores. All participants demonstrated moderate knowledge and a favorable attitude toward mental health. Final-year students had more awareness and a better attitude towards mental health than the other students. Physiotherapy undergraduates with clinical experience tend to see psychiatry and individuals with mental illness more positively.

Keywords

Mental health knowledge schedule, Mental illness clinicians, Mental illness stigma, Physiotherapy students

References

• Andrew, E., Briffa, K., Waters, F., Lee, S., & Fary, R. (2019). Physiotherapists’ views about providing physiotherapy services to people with severe and persistent mental illness: a mixed methods study. Journal of Physiotherapy, 65(4), 222–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPHYS.2019.08.001
• Arnoldy, R., Curtis, J., & Samaras, K. (2014). The effects of antipsychotic switching on diabetes in chronic schizophrenia. Diabetic Medicine, 31(3), e16–e19. https://doi.org/10.1111/DME.12359
• Babicki, M., Małecka, M., Kowalski, K., Bogudzińska, B., & Piotrowski, P. (2021). Stigma Levels Toward Psychiatric Patients Among Medical Students—A Worldwide Online Survey Across 65 Countries. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 798909. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYT.2021.798909/BIBTEX
• Ben Amor, M., Zgueb, Y., Bouguira, E., Metsahel, A., Aissa, A., Thonicroft, G., & Ouali, U. (2023). Arabic validation of the “Mental Health Knowledge Schedule” and the “Reported and Intended Behavior Scale.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1241611. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYT.2023.1241611/BIBTEX
• Bredin, S. S. D., Warburton, D. E. R., & Lang, D. J. (2013). The Health Benefits and Challenges of Exercise Training in Persons Living with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study. Brain Sciences 2013, Vol. 3, Pages 821-848, 3(2), 821–848. https://doi.org/10.3390/BRAINSCI3020821
• Connaughton, J., & Gibson, W. (2016). Physiotherapy students’ attitudes toward psychiatry and mental health: A cross-sectional study. Physiotherapy Canada, 68(2), 172–178. https://doi.org/10.3138/ptc.2015-18E
• Corrigan, P. W., River, P. L., Lundin, R. K., Penn, D. L., Uphoff-Wasowski, K., Campion, J., Mathisen, J., Gagnon, C., Bergman, M., Goldstein, H., & Kubiak, M. A. (2001). Three strategies for changing attributions about severe mental illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 27(2), 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1093/OXFORDJOURNALS.SCHBUL.A006865
• Daluiso-King, G., & Hebron, C. (2022). Is the biopsychosocial model in musculoskeletal physiotherapy adequate? An evolutionary concept analysis. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 38(3), 373–389. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2020.1765440
• Dandridge, T., Stubbs, B., Roskell, C., & Soundy, A. (2014). A survey of physiotherapy students’ experiences and attitudes towards treating individuals with mental illness. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation 21(7), 324–330. https://doi.org/10.12968/IJTR.2014.21.7.324
• Driver, C., Kean, B., Oprescu, F., & Lovell, G. P. (2017). Knowledge, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of physiotherapists towards the use of psychological interventions in physiotherapy practice: a systematic review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 39(22), 2237–2249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1223176
• Evans-Lacko, S., Little, K., Meltzer, H., Rose, D., Rhydderch, D., Henderson, C., & Thornicroft, G. (2010). Development and psychometric properties of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 55(7), 440–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371005500707
• Gabbidon, J., Clement, S., van Nieuwenhuizen, A., Kassam, A., Brohan, E., Norman, I., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes (MICA) Scale—Psychometric properties of a version for healthcare students and professionals. Psychiatry Research, 206(1), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PSYCHRES.2012.09.028
• Galletly, C. A., Foley, D. L., Waterreus, A., Watts, G. F., Castle, D. J., McGrath, J. J., MacKinnon, A., & Morgan, V. A. (2012). Cardiometabolic risk factors in people with psychotic disorders: the second Australian national survey of psychosis. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 46(8), 753–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867412453089
• Gautham, M. S., Gururaj, G., Varghese, M., Benegal, V., Rao, G. N. … Majhi, G. (2020). The National Mental Health Survey of India (2016): Prevalence, socio-demographic correlates and treatment gap of mental morbidity. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(4), 361–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020907941
• Gawley, L., Einarson, A., & Bowen, A. (2011). Stigma and attitudes towards antenatal depression and antidepressant use during pregnancy in healthcare students. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 16(5), 669–679. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10459-011-9289-0
• Geer, L. A., Curbow, B. A., Anna, D. H., Lees, P. S. J., & Buckley, T. J. (2006). Development of a questionnaire to assess worker knowledge, attitudes and perceptions underlying dermal exposure. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 32(3), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.5271/SJWEH.1001
• Ghuloum, S., Mahfoud, Z. R., Al-Amin, H., Marji, T., & Kehyayan, V. (2022). Healthcare Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Patients With Mental Illness: A Cross-Sectional Study in Qatar. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 884947. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPSYT.2022.884947/BIBTEX
• Griswold, K. S., Zayas, L. E., Pastore, P. A., Smith, S. J., Wagner, C. M., & Servoss, T. J. (2008). Primary Care After Psychiatric Crisis: A Qualitative Analysis. The Annals of Family Medicine, 6(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1370/AFM.760
• Gunduza, R. R., Lord, S., & Keller, M. M. (2023). Physiotherapy students’ knowledge and attitudes about their role in mental health. South African Journal of Physiotherapy, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/SAJP.V79I1.1867
• Hansson, L., Jormfeldt, H., Svedberg, P., & Svensson, B. (2013). Mental health professionals’ attitudes towards people with mental illness: do they differ from attitudes held by people with mental illness? The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 59(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764011423176
• Hemmings, L., & Soundy, A. (2020). Experiences of physiotherapy in mental health: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of barriers and facilitators to care. Physiotherapy, 109, 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PHYSIO.2020.01.001
• Heywood, S. E., Connaughton, J., Kinsella, R., Black, S., Bicchi, N., & Setchell, J. (2022). Physical Therapy and Mental Health: A Scoping Review. Physical Therapy, 102(11). https://doi.org/10.1093/PTJ/PZAC102
• Hooblaul, M., Cobbing, S., & Daniels, K. J. (2020). The knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of physiotherapists in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, towards mental health. The South African Journal of Physiotherapy, 76(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/SAJP.V76I1.1483
• Hooblaul, M., Nadasan, T., & Oladapo, O. M. (2023). Mental health education for physiotherapists: A scoping review. The South African Journal of Psychiatry : SAJP : The Journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa, 29. https://doi.org/10.4102/SAJPSYCHIATRY.V29I0.2127
• Kassam, A., Glozier, N., Leese, M., Henderson, C., & Thornicroft, G. (2010). Development and responsiveness of a scale to measure clinicians’ attitudes to people with mental illness (medical student version). Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 122(2), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1600-0447.2010.01562.X
• Kessler, R. C., Angermeyer, M., Anthony, J. C., De Graaf, R. O. N., Demyttenaere, K., Gasquet, I., ... & Üstün, T. B. (2007). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative. World psychiatry, 6(3), 168-178.
• Knaak, S., Mantler, E., & Szeto, A. (2017). Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare: Barriers to access and care and evidence-based solutions. Healthcare management forum, 30(2), 111–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0840470416679413
• Knaak, S., Mantler, E., & Szeto, A. (2017b). Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare: Barriers to access and care and evidence-based solutions. In Healthcare Management Forum (Vol. 30, Issue 2, pp. 111–116). SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/0840470416679413
• Lee, S., Waters, F., Briffa, K., & Fary, R. E. (2017). Limited interface between physiotherapy primary care and people with severe mental illness: a qualitative study. Journal of Physiotherapy, 63(3), 168–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JPHYS.2017.05.014
• Lyons, Z., & Janca, A. (2015). Impact of a psychiatry clerkship on stigma, attitudes towards psychiatry, and psychiatry as a career choice. BMC Medical Education, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/S12909-015-0307-4
• Masedo, A., Grandón, P., Saldivia, S., Vielma-Aguilera, A., Castro-Alzate, E. S., Bustos, C., Romero-López-Alberca, C., Pena-Andreu, J. M., Xavier, M., & Moreno-Küstner, B. (2021). A multicentric study on stigma towards people with mental illness in health sciences students. BMC Medical Education, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/S12909-021-02695-8
• Patel, V., Xiao, S., Chen, H., Hanna, F., Jotheeswaran, A. T., Luo, D., Parikh, R., Sharma, E., Usmani, S., Yu, Y., Druss, B. G., & Saxena, S. (2016). The magnitude of and health system responses to the mental health treatment gap in adults in India and China. In The Lancet (Vol. 388, Issue 10063, pp. 3074–3084). Lancet Publishing Group.
• Pope, C. (2009). Recovering mind and body: A framework for the role of physiotherapy in mental health and well-being. Journal of Public Mental Health, 8(2), 36–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200900012/FULL/XML
• Probst, M., & Peuskens, J. (2010). Attitudes of Flemish physiotherapy students towards mental health and psychiatry. Physiotherapy, 96(1), 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2009.08.006
• Richardson, C. R., Faulkner, G., McDevitt, J., Skrinar, G. S., Hutchinson, D. S., & Piette, J. D. (2005). Integrating physical activity into mental health services for persons with serious mental illness. Psychiatric services, 56(3), 324-331. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.56.3.324
• Saxena, S., & Setoya, Y. (2014). World Health Organization’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2020. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 68(8), 585–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/PCN.12207
• Siddiqua, A., & Foster, A. (2015). Critical Synthesis Package: Mental Illness Clinicians’ Attitudes Scale (MICA). MedEdPORTAL. https://doi.org/10.15766/MEP_2374-8265.10024
• Standards of Physiotherapy Practice. (1994). Physiotherapy, 80(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9406(10)61244-8
• Torales, J., Barrios, I., Almirón, M., & De la Cueva, R. (2017). Physiotherapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 10(3), 298–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/17542863.2017.1303075
• Vancampfort, D., Probst, M., Skjaerven, L. H., Catalán-Matamoros, D., Lundvik-Gyllensten, A., Gómez-Conesa, A., Ijntema, R., & de Hert, M. (2012). Systematic Review of the Benefits of Physical Therapy Within a Multidisciplinary Care Approach for People With Schizophrenia. Physical Therapy, 92(1), 11–23. https://doi.org/10.2522/PTJ.20110218
• Vancampfort, D., Stubbs, B., Probst, M., & Mugisha, J. (2018). Physiotherapy for people with mental health problems in Sub-Saharan African countries: a systematic review. Archives of Physiotherapy, 8(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/S40945-018-0043-2/TABLES/3
• Whiteford, H. A., Degenhardt, L., Rehm, J., Baxter, A. J., Ferrari, A. J., Erskine, H. E., Charlson, F. J., Norman, R. E., Flaxman, A. D., Johns, N., Burstein, R., Murray, C. J. L., & Vos, T. (2013). Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet, 382(9904), 1575–1586. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61611-6