Skip to main content

Mental health consumers and caregivers as instructors for health professional students: a qualitative study

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology volume 47, pages 607–613 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore the self-reported effect of consumer and caregiver-led education for pharmacy students and to explore the goals, challenges and benefits of mental health consumer educators providing education to health professional students.

Methods

Five focus groups (mean duration 46 min, SD 22 min) were held with 23 participants (11 undergraduate pharmacy students, 12 mental health consumer educators) using semi-structured interview guides. The focus groups were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically content analyzed using a constant comparison approach.

Results

Three major themes emerged from the data; raising awareness about mental health, impact on professional practice and impact on mental health consumers. The students reported decreased stigma, improved attitudes toward mental illness and behavior changes in their professional practice. The primary reason for becoming an educator was to raise awareness and reduce mental health stigma. However, educators also benefited personally through empowerment, improved confidence and social skills.

Conclusion

Providing students the opportunity to have contact with consumers with a mental illness in a safe, educational setting led to decreases in stigma, the fostering of empathy and self-reported behavior changes in practice. Sharing personal stories about mental illness is a powerful tool to decrease mental health stigma and may be an important aspect of a person’s recovery from mental illness. Contact with mental health consumers in an educational setting is recommended, particularly for future health care professionals. Appropriate training and support of consumers is crucial to ensure the experience is positive for all involved.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  1. Stier A, Hinshaw SP (2007) Explicit and implicit stigma against individuals with mental illness. Aust Psychol 42:106–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Sartorius N (2007) Stigma and mental health. Lancet 370:810–811

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Brohan E, Elgie R, Sartorius N, Thornicroft G (2010) Self-stigma, empowerment and perceived discrimination among people with schizophrenia in 14 European countries: The GAMIAN-Europe study. Schizophr Res 122:232–238

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Barney LJ, Griffiths KM, Jorm AF, Christensen H (2006) Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 40:51–54

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Pinfold V, Thornicroft G, Huxley P, Farmer P (2005) Active ingredients in anti-stigma programmes in mental health. Int Rev Psychiatry 17:123–131

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. O’Reilly CL, Bell JS, Chen TF (2010) Consumer-led mental health education for pharmacy students: impact on stigma and attitudes towards provision of pharmaceutical services Am J Pharm Educ 74: Article 167

  7. Bell JS, Johns R, Rose G, Chen TF (2006) A comparative study of consumer participation in mental health pharmacy education. Ann Pharmacother 40:1759–1765

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. The World Health Organization (2008) Integrating mental health into primary care : a global perspective. Geneva, Switzerland

  9. Jorm AF, Oh E (2009) Desire for social distance from people with mental disorders. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 43:183–200

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Angermeyer M, Matschinger H (1996) The effect of personal experience with mental illness on the attitude towards individuals suffering from mental disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 31:321–326

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Olfson M, Marcus SC (2009) National Patterns in Antidepressant Medication Treatment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66:848–856. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.81

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2009) Mental health services in Australia 2006–07, vol Mental Health Series No 11. Cat. no. HSE 74. Canberra

  13. Pohjanoksa-Mäntylä M, Bell JS, Helakorpi S, Närhi U, Pelkonen A, Airaksinen M (2010) Is the Internet replacing health professionals? A population survey on sources of medicines information among people with mental disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol doi:10.1007/s00127-010-0201-7

  14. Finley PR, Rens HR, Pont JT, Gess SL, Louie C, Bull SA, Lee JY, Bero LA, Finley PR, Rens HR, Pont JT, Gess SL, Louie C, Bull SA, Lee JY, Bero LA (2003) Impact of a collaborative care model on depression in a primary care setting: a randomized controlled trial. Pharmacotherapy 23(9):1175–1185

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Gisev N, Bell JS, O’Reilly C, Rosen A, Chen T (2010) An expert panel assessment of comprehensive medication reviews for clients of community mental health teams. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45:1071–1079. doi:10.1007/s00127-009-0148-8

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Finley PR, Rens HR, Pont JT, Gess SL, Louie C, Bull SA, Bero LA, Finley PR, Rens HR, Pont JT, Gess SL, Louie C, Bull SA, Bero LA (2002) Impact of a collaborative pharmacy practice model on the treatment of depression in primary care. Am J Health Syst Pharm 59(16):1518–1526

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Scheerder G, De Coster I, Van Audenhove C (2009) Community pharmacists’ attitude toward depression: A pilot study. Res Social Admin Pharm 5(3):242–252

    Google Scholar 

  18. O’Reilly CL, Bell JS, Chen TF (2010) Pharmacists’ beliefs about treatments and outcomes of mental disorders: a mental health literacy survey. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 44:1089–1096. doi:10.3109/00048674.2010.512864

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Maslen CL, Rees L, Redfern PH (1996) Role of the community pharmacist in the care of patients with chronic schizophrenia in the community. Int J Pharm Pract 4:187–195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Phokeo V, Sproule B, Raman-Wilms L (2004) Community pharmacists’ attitudes toward and professional interactions with users of psychiatric medication. Psychiatr Serv 55:1434–1436

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Buhler AP, Karimi RP (2008) Peer-Level Patient Presenters Decrease Pharmacy Students’ Social Distance From Patients With Schizophrenia and Clinical Depression. Am J Pharm Educ 72: Article 106

  22. Brown LD, Shepherd MD, Merkle EC, Wituk SA, Meissen G (2008) Understanding how participation in a consumer-run organization relates to recovery. Am J Community Psychol 42:167–178

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Lloyd C, King R, Moore L (2010) Subjective and objective indicators of recovery in severe mental illness: A cross-sectional study. Int J Soc Psychiatry 56:220–229

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Walters K, Buszewicz M, Russell J, Humphrey C (2003) Teaching as therapy: cross sectional and qualitative evaluation of patients’ experiences of undergraduate psychiatry teaching in the community. BMJ 326:740

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  25. SFNSW (2010) Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales. http://www.sfnsw.org.au/. Accessed 15 September 2010

  26. Boeije H (2002) A purposeful approach to the constant comparative method in the analysis of qualitative interviews. Qual Quant 36:391–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Silverman D (2000) Doing qualitative research. A practical handbook. The Cromwell Press Ltd, Wilshire

    Google Scholar 

  28. Arkar H, Eker D (1997) Influence of a 3-week psychiatric training programme on attitudes toward mental illness in medical students. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 32:171–176

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Sadow D, Ryder M, Webster D (2002) Is education of health professionals encouraging stigma towards the mentally ill? J Ment Health 11:657–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Pettigrew TF, Tropp LR (2006) A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. J Pers Soc Psychol 90:751–783

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Dovidio JF, Gaertner SL, Kawakami K (2003) Intergroup Contact: The Past, Present, and the Future. Group Process Intergroup Relat 6:5–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Bell JS, Johns R, Chen TF (2006) Pharmacy students’ and graduates’ attitudes towards people with schizophrenia and severe depression. Am J Pharm Educ 70: Article 77

  33. Desforges DM, Lord CG, Ramsey SL, Mason JA, Van Leeuwen MD, West SC, Lepper MR (1991) Effects of Structured Cooperative Contact on Changing Negative Attitudes Toward Stigmatized Social Groups. J Pers Soc Psychol 60:531–544

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Couture SM, Penn DL (2003) Interpersonal contact and the stigma of mental illness: A review of the literature. J Ment Health 12:291–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Boyd J, Katz E, Link B, Phelan J (2010) The relationship of multiple aspects of stigma and personal contact with someone hospitalized for mental illness, in a nationally representative sample. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 45:1063–1070. doi:10.1007/s00127-009-0147-9

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Cook JA, Jonikas JA, Razzano L (1995) A randomized evaluation of consumer versus nonconsumer training of state mental health service providers. Community Ment Health J 31:229–238

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Lysaker PH, Ringer J, Maxwell C, McGuire A, Lecomte T (2010) Personal narratives and recovery from schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 121:271–276

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Corrigan PW (2002) Empowerment and Serious Mental Illness: Treatment Partnerships and Community Opportunities. Psychiatr Q 73:217–228. doi:10.1023/a:1016040805432

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Morgan DL (1993) Successful focus groups. Advancing the state of the art. Sage Publications, Newbury Park

    Google Scholar 

  40. Huston SA, Hobson EH (2008) Using focus groups to inform pharmacy research. Res Social Adm Pharm 4:186–205

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Marshall MN (1996) Sampling for qualitative research. Fam Pract 13:522–526

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales for their support of this research and for providing the training and support of the mental health consumer educators.

Conflict of interest

All authors declare they have no conflicts of interest relevant to this research or the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Pharmacy and Bank Building A15, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Claire L. O’Reilly, J. Simon Bell & Timothy F. Chen

  2. Kuopio Research Centre of Geriatric Care, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    J. Simon Bell

  3. Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Unit, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland

    J. Simon Bell

  4. Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, Sansom Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    J. Simon Bell

Authors
  1. Claire L. O’Reilly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. J. Simon Bell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Timothy F. Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claire L. O’Reilly.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

O’Reilly, C.L., Bell, J.S. & Chen, T.F. Mental health consumers and caregivers as instructors for health professional students: a qualitative study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 47, 607–613 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0364-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0364-x

Keywords

  • Consumer participation
  • Attitude of health personnel
  • Psychotic disorders
  • Education
  • Health professionals