title: Can renaming schizophrenia reduce negative attitudes toward patients in Turkey?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the perception of the term schizophrenia among university students.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was performed in April 2015 with students from Canik Başarı University (Samsun/Turkey). A patient history was first established. We then investigated to what extent students agreed with 10 statements based on that patient history. Three separate questionnaire forms (versions A, B and C), differing only in terms of the diagnosis in the patient in the history, were prepared. The three diagnoses were 'Schizophrenia' (version A), 'A psychiatric disease by the name of Bleuler's syndrome' (version B) and 'Brain tumor' (version C). The questionnaires were administered in a class environment. In all, 771 students participated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistically significant differences between the forms were determined in only two statements ('A.'s disease will represent a problem in A.'s future career' and 'A. will in all probability have problems with the law in the future'). While no difference was determined between versions A and B at two-way comparisons, a statistically significant difference was observed between versions A and B and version C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No difference was determined between students' attitudes toward a diagnosis of 'schizophrenia' and one of 'a psychiatric disease known as Bleuler's syndrome'. The focus in preventing stigmatization of schizophrenia should not concentrate on a name change alone. Changing the name schizophrenia may be of no use unless public ignorance and fear of psychiatric diseases can also be overcome.
authors.affiliation: Canik Community Health Center, Public Health Directorate, Samsun, Turkey servetaker@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Servet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ömer
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Böke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Canik Başarı Üniversity, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: Gülay
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oğuz
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014421:Turkey; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Schizophrenia; Turkey; renaming; stigma