Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff
Background The number of mental health-related 999 calls to emergency services has increased in recent years. However, emergency services staff have an unfavourable reputation when it comes to supporting people experiencing mental health problems. Aims To assess the levels of explicit and implicit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2021-05-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472421000375/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1811156973319618560 |
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| author | Cassie M. Hazell Yasin Koc Sorcha O'Brien Sarah Fielding-Smith Mark Hayward |
| author_facet | Cassie M. Hazell Yasin Koc Sorcha O'Brien Sarah Fielding-Smith Mark Hayward |
| author_sort | Cassie M. Hazell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background
The number of mental health-related 999 calls to emergency services has increased in recent years. However, emergency services staff have an unfavourable reputation when it comes to supporting people experiencing mental health problems.
Aims
To assess the levels of explicit and implicit mental health stigma among accident and emergency, ambulance and police staff, and draw comparisons with the general population. Additional analyses sought to identify which variables predict mental health stigma among emergency services staff.
Method
A cross-sectional survey of 1837 participants, comprising four independent groups (accident and emergency, ambulance and police staff, and the general population).
Results
Levels of mental health stigma across all four groups were lower than those reported in recent surveys of the general population by the ‘Time to Change’ campaign. Within this study, explicit levels of mental health stigma were lower among the general population compared with emergency services staff. There was no difference between emergency service professions, nor were there any between-group differences in terms of implicit mental health stigma. The only consistent predictors of mental health stigma were attitudes and future behavioural intentions, whereby increased stigma was predicted by increased fear, reduced sympathy and greater intended discrimination.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that levels of mental health stigma have improved over time, but there is room for improvement in emergency services staff. Interventions to improve mental health stigma may be most effective if, in line with the cognitive–behavioural model of stigma, they target attitudes and behavioural intentions.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:59:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eeb740654e764bd8bea1654a63a2a070 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:59:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-eeb740654e764bd8bea1654a63a2a0702023-03-09T12:29:06ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242021-05-01710.1192/bjo.2021.37Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staffCassie M. Hazell0Yasin Koc1Sorcha O'Brien2Sarah Fielding-Smith3Mark Hayward4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6567-7723School of Social Sciences, University of Westminster, UKDepartment of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, The NetherlandsSchool of Psychology, University of Sussex, UKDepartment of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UKResearch & Development Department, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, UK; and School of Psychology, University of Sussex, UKBackground The number of mental health-related 999 calls to emergency services has increased in recent years. However, emergency services staff have an unfavourable reputation when it comes to supporting people experiencing mental health problems. Aims To assess the levels of explicit and implicit mental health stigma among accident and emergency, ambulance and police staff, and draw comparisons with the general population. Additional analyses sought to identify which variables predict mental health stigma among emergency services staff. Method A cross-sectional survey of 1837 participants, comprising four independent groups (accident and emergency, ambulance and police staff, and the general population). Results Levels of mental health stigma across all four groups were lower than those reported in recent surveys of the general population by the ‘Time to Change’ campaign. Within this study, explicit levels of mental health stigma were lower among the general population compared with emergency services staff. There was no difference between emergency service professions, nor were there any between-group differences in terms of implicit mental health stigma. The only consistent predictors of mental health stigma were attitudes and future behavioural intentions, whereby increased stigma was predicted by increased fear, reduced sympathy and greater intended discrimination. Conclusions Our findings suggest that levels of mental health stigma have improved over time, but there is room for improvement in emergency services staff. Interventions to improve mental health stigma may be most effective if, in line with the cognitive–behavioural model of stigma, they target attitudes and behavioural intentions. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472421000375/type/journal_articleStigmamental health awarenesspoliceambulanceaccident and emergency |
| spellingShingle | Cassie M. Hazell Yasin Koc Sorcha O'Brien Sarah Fielding-Smith Mark Hayward Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff BJPsych Open Stigma mental health awareness police ambulance accident and emergency |
| title | Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| title_full | Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| title_short | Enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services (the ENHANcE I project): cross-sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| title_sort | enhancing mental health awareness in emergency services the enhance i project cross sectional survey on mental health stigma among emergency services staff |
| topic | Stigma mental health awareness police ambulance accident and emergency |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472421000375/type/journal_article |
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