Controlled Study of the Impact of a Virtual Program to Reduce Stigma Among University Students Toward People With Mental Disorders
Open accessAbstract
Stigma toward mental disorders is one of today's most pressing global issues. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the barriers to social inclusion faced by individuals with mental disorders. Concurrently, stigma reduction interventions, especially those aimed at university students, have been more difficult to implement given social distancing and campus closures. As a result, alternative delivery for programs contributing to stigma reduction is required, such as online implementation. This paper reports the results of a controlled study focused on an online multi-component program on reducing stigma toward mental illness that included project-based learning, clinical simulations with standardized patients and E-Contact with real patients. A total of 40 undergraduate students from the Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile, participated in the study. They were randomly divided between an intervention and control group. The intervention group participated in the online multi-component program, while the control group participated in an online educational program on cardiovascular health. We assessed the impact of the program by using the validated Spanish-language versions of the Attribution Questionnaire AQ-27 and the Questionnaire on Student Attitudes toward Schizophrenia with both groups, before and after the intervention. In addition, an ad hoc Likert scale ranging from 0 to 5 was used with the intervention group in order to assess the learning strategies implemented. Following the intervention, the participants belonging to the intervention group displayed significantly lower levels of stereotypes, perception of dangerousness, and global score toward people with schizophrenia (p < 0.001). In addition, participants presented lower levels of dangerousness-fear, avoidance, coercion, lack of solidarity, and global score (p < 0.001). The control group displayed no statistically significant differences in the level of stigma before and after the evaluation, for all of the items assessed. Finally, the overall assessment of each of the components of the program was highly positive. In conclusion, the study shows that online programs can contribute to reducing stigma toward mental disorders. The program assessed in this study had a positive impact on all the dimensions of stigma and all of the components of the program itself were positively evaluated by the participants.
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Two included studies showed high risk of bias related to allocation concealment.
“Besides, 2 other studies [11,32] showed a high ROB related to the allocation concealment.”
From Innovative Technology–Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma Toward People With Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
For 3 studies with more than 1 stigma scale, the multiple measures were combined into a single effect size following methodology for complex data structures.
“As 3 of the studies included more than 1 scale that assessed levels of stigma [11,22,31], we conducted an analysis that combined them into a single effect size. In those cases, we followed the methodology suggestion for complex data structures [30].”
From Innovative Technology–Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma Toward People With Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
e-Contact using chat and synchronous videoconferencing can reduce anxiety, stigma, and stereotypes toward people with mental disorders and promote an inclusive attitude.
“However, e-contact implementation in the field of stigma reduction is new and innovative, and it has been demonstrated that e-contact using chat and synchronous videoconferencing can reduce anxiety, stigma, and stereotypes toward the population impacted by mental disorders, and promote an inclusive attitude [11,22].”
From Innovative Technology–Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma Toward People With Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
Innovative technology-based interventions have had a great impact on reducing stigma toward people with mental illness, mainly due to their adaptability to different contexts and age ranges.
“In the last years, several authors have shown that innovative technology-based interventions have had a great impact on the reduction of stigma toward people with mental illness, mainly due to its adaptability to different contexts and age ranges [11].”
From Innovative Technology–Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma Toward People With Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
Adaptation of educative and contact components has demonstrated great utility in e-contact with people with mental illness, offering wider dissemination and reaching remote areas [11,22].
“Its adaptation had demonstrated a great utility, for example, in e-contact with people with mental illness, as they offer the possibility of wider dissemination and even the possibility of reaching remote areas [11,22].”
From Innovative Technology–Based Interventions to Reduce Stigma Toward People With Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [11]
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References 76 · Cited by 52
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [4]Mascayano F Lips W Mena C Manchego C Estigma hacia los trastornos mentales: características e intervenciones. Salud Ment. (2015) 38: 53– 8. Available online at: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0185-33252015000100008&lng=es&tlng=es (accessed November 11, 2020).
- Authors
- Rodríguez-Rivas, M. E., Cangas, A. J., & Fuentes-Olavarría, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Almería (ES)
- ORCID
- Cangas, Adolfo J.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2021-02-09
- Volume
- 12
- Pages
- 632252-632252
- ISSN
- 1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7900522
- OpenAlex
- W3127953293
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 76
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 11.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Inclusion and Disability in Education and Sport
- Keywords
- stigma reduction, mental health stigma, university students, online intervention, project-based learning, clinical simulation, standardized patients, stereotypes, COVID-19 pandemic, social inclusion
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