Stigma towards mental illness among medical students in Australia and Ghana.
OBJECTIVE
Stigma towards mental illness has been found to impact adversely on medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry. This study aimed to assess the impact of stigma among final year students at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and the University of Western Australia.


METHODS
A 28-item "Attitudes and stigma towards mental health" questionnaire was distributed to final year students at both universities.


RESULTS
There was a significant difference in questionnaire scores, with Australian students showing more positive attitudes towards mental illness and lower levels of stigma compared with Ghanaian students.


CONCLUSIONS
Stigmatization was expressed by Australian and Ghanaian students. A combination of medical school experiences and wider societal and cultural beliefs could be responsible for students' attitudes towards mental illness. Educators can develop locally relevant anti-stigma teaching resources throughout the psychiatry curriculum to improve students' attitudes towards psychiatry as a discipline and mental illness in general.
University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, zaza.lyons@uwa.edu.au.
Zaza
Z
Lyons
Jonathan
J
Laugharne
Richard
R
Laugharne
John
J
Appiah-Poku
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology*; D001315:Australia / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000208:ethnology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology*; D057545:Social Stigma; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult