Depression-related stigma among primary care providers
Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States and is often treated in primary care settings. Despite its prevalence, depression remains underdiagnosed and undertreated for a variety of reasons, including stigma. This may result in suboptimal management of d...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | Mental Health Clinician |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.9740/mhc.2021.05.175 |
| _version_ | 1827577003583209472 |
|---|---|
| author | Andrew Kluemper, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP Lauren Heath, PharmD, MS, BCACP Danielle Loeb, MD, MPH Miranda Kroehl, MS, PhD Katy Trinkley, PharmD, BCACP |
| author_facet | Andrew Kluemper, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP Lauren Heath, PharmD, MS, BCACP Danielle Loeb, MD, MPH Miranda Kroehl, MS, PhD Katy Trinkley, PharmD, BCACP |
| author_sort | Andrew Kluemper, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States and is often treated in primary care settings. Despite its prevalence, depression remains underdiagnosed and undertreated for a variety of reasons, including stigma. This may result in suboptimal management of depression. Studies evaluating stigma in US primary care providers (PCP) are scarce. The main objective of this study was to describe stigma in a cohort of PCPs.
Methods: We utilized a validated questionnaire to measure stigma (score range 15 to 75 with lower scores indicating lower stigma levels). PCPs in 2 academic internal medicine clinics were sent an electronic questionnaire and received a small monetary incentive for responding. In addition to the stigma survey, we collected demographic data, including age, provider type, gender, and other data related to social proximity to mental illness. To describe stigma, differences in stigma between provider characteristics were evaluated using t tests and ANOVA tests as appropriate.
Results: Of 107 PCPs, 71 responded (66.4% response rate). Male responders displayed higher stigma scores than females (31.8 vs 27.4, P=.0021). Medical residents displayed higher stigma scores than nonresidents (31.3 vs 27.2, P=.0045). Providers with personal exposure to mental illness and those who reported they frequently treated depression had less stigma.
Discussion: Overall, a range of stigma was present among PCPs surveyed. Higher levels of stigma were found in men, medical residents, those without personal exposure to mental illness, younger PCPs, and those who reported treating depression less frequently. Future studies should utilize larger sample sizes and focus on the impact of stigma on quality of care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:20:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a2f7ed4176a4467998f2f64d68300a75 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2168-9709 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:20:31Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Mental Health Clinician |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2f7ed4176a4467998f2f64d68300a752023-12-21T11:42:11ZengAmerican Association of Psychiatric PharmacistsMental Health Clinician2168-97092021-05-0111317518010.9740/mhc.2021.05.175i2168-9709-11-3-175Depression-related stigma among primary care providersAndrew Kluemper, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8737-0204Lauren Heath, PharmD, MS, BCACP1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0255-3501Danielle Loeb, MD, MPH2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1688-8799Miranda Kroehl, MS, PhD3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3840-3660Katy Trinkley, PharmD, BCACP4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2041-74041 Clinical Pharmacist, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, Colorado2 Assistant Professor, University of Utah College of Pharmacy, Salt Lake City, Utah3 Associate Professor-Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado4 Biostatistician, Charter Communications Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colorado5 Associate Professor, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, ColoradoIntroduction: Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States and is often treated in primary care settings. Despite its prevalence, depression remains underdiagnosed and undertreated for a variety of reasons, including stigma. This may result in suboptimal management of depression. Studies evaluating stigma in US primary care providers (PCP) are scarce. The main objective of this study was to describe stigma in a cohort of PCPs. Methods: We utilized a validated questionnaire to measure stigma (score range 15 to 75 with lower scores indicating lower stigma levels). PCPs in 2 academic internal medicine clinics were sent an electronic questionnaire and received a small monetary incentive for responding. In addition to the stigma survey, we collected demographic data, including age, provider type, gender, and other data related to social proximity to mental illness. To describe stigma, differences in stigma between provider characteristics were evaluated using t tests and ANOVA tests as appropriate. Results: Of 107 PCPs, 71 responded (66.4% response rate). Male responders displayed higher stigma scores than females (31.8 vs 27.4, P=.0021). Medical residents displayed higher stigma scores than nonresidents (31.3 vs 27.2, P=.0045). Providers with personal exposure to mental illness and those who reported they frequently treated depression had less stigma. Discussion: Overall, a range of stigma was present among PCPs surveyed. Higher levels of stigma were found in men, medical residents, those without personal exposure to mental illness, younger PCPs, and those who reported treating depression less frequently. Future studies should utilize larger sample sizes and focus on the impact of stigma on quality of care.https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.9740/mhc.2021.05.175mental illnessstigmadepressionmajor depressive disordermddprimary care |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Kluemper, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP Lauren Heath, PharmD, MS, BCACP Danielle Loeb, MD, MPH Miranda Kroehl, MS, PhD Katy Trinkley, PharmD, BCACP Depression-related stigma among primary care providers Mental Health Clinician mental illness stigma depression major depressive disorder mdd primary care |
| title | Depression-related stigma among primary care providers |
| title_full | Depression-related stigma among primary care providers |
| title_fullStr | Depression-related stigma among primary care providers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Depression-related stigma among primary care providers |
| title_short | Depression-related stigma among primary care providers |
| title_sort | depression related stigma among primary care providers |
| topic | mental illness stigma depression major depressive disorder mdd primary care |
| url | https://theijpt.org/doi/pdf/10.9740/mhc.2021.05.175 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrewkluemperpharmdbcpsbcpp depressionrelatedstigmaamongprimarycareproviders AT laurenheathpharmdmsbcacp depressionrelatedstigmaamongprimarycareproviders AT danielleloebmdmph depressionrelatedstigmaamongprimarycareproviders AT mirandakroehlmsphd depressionrelatedstigmaamongprimarycareproviders AT katytrinkleypharmdbcacp depressionrelatedstigmaamongprimarycareproviders |