title: Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill: A Study with Health Workers at a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro.
abstract: As there are few studies about evaluation of attitudes of health care workers to people with mental disorders in Brazil, a cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the health professionals' attitudes working in a university hospital in Rio de Janeiro and also examine the proportion of negative and positive attitudes endorsed by healthcare professionals in Brazil towards people with mental illness in comparison with other parts of the world. Data were collected using the Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI) in a random sampling frame of health professionals (n = 246) working in a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro between April 2013 and June 2013. The CAMI consists of four sub-scales: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Social Restrictiveness and Community Mental Health Ideology. The results showed attitudes that range from neutral to positive, with the Benevolence and Social Restrictiveness sub-scales showing the least stigmatizing results. The following individual characteristics were associated with negative attitudes: lower levels of education and less clinical experience. In general, health workers attitudes towards service users are characterized as positive when compared with other international studies. However, educational programs for health workers should be reinforced to further promote pre-existing positive attitudes towards people with mental health and the implementation of Brazilian Mental Health Policies.
authors.affiliation: Studies Center of the Municipal Institute of Health Care Juliano Moreira (CE/IMASJM), Estrada Rodrigues Caldas, 3400/3rd Floor, Rio de Janeiro, CEP 22.713-375, Brazil. sylvia.goncalves98@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sylvia Rosa Gonçalves
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Siqueira
authors.affiliation: Institute of Studies in Collective Health (IESC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Avenida Horácio Macedo, S/N - Ilha do Fundão - Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 21941-598, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lúcia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abelha
authors.affiliation: Institute of Studies in Collective Health (IESC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Avenida Horácio Macedo, S/N - Ilha do Fundão - Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 21941-598, Brazil.
authors.forename: Giovanni Marcos
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lovisi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Studies in Collective Health (IESC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Avenida Horácio Macedo, S/N - Ilha do Fundão - Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 21941-598, Brazil.
authors.forename: Keli Rodrigues
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sarução
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Columbia University, 14, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000488:Allied Health Personnel; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Attitudes of health workers; Severe mental disorders; Social stigma