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Knowledge and Attitudes of First- and Final-Year Medical Students about Electroconvulsive Therapy: The Impact of Media

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study is to evaluate medical students’ knowledge about and attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and to assess the impact of information sources (including those within and outside the curriculum) on knowledge and attitudes by comparing first- and final-year medical students.

Methods

Two hundred and ninety-five first-year and one hundred forty-nine final-year medical students of the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium responded to an anonymous self-administered survey which consisted of questions about sociodemographic background, self-perceived knowledge about medicine, psychiatry and ECT, interest in psychiatry, experience with psychiatric disorders, information sources of ECT, and knowledge about and attitudes towards ECT.

Results

Compared to first-year medical students, final-year students had better knowledge about and more positive attitudes towards ECT, partially explained by differences in information sources. Nevertheless, both student groups showed an average knowledge score below 50%. Whereas freshmen attributed their knowledge to movies or documentaries, senior students gained knowledge mainly at university courses, scientific journals, and attending live ECT sessions. A significant positive correlation was found between knowledge about and positive attitudes towards ECT.

Conclusions

The knowledge of first- and final-year medical students remains limited, potentially due to limited instruction about ECT in medical courses. The use of media as an information source predicted negative attitudes towards ECT. Therefore, the stigma and misinformation provided in the media need to be addressed in the medical curriculum.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors have informed the journal that they agree that both Emma De Schuyteneer and Bram Dewachter completed the intellectual and other work typical of the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KU Leuven, University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Kortenberg, Belgium

    Emma De Schuyteneer, Kristof Vansteelandt, Eva Pilato, Bo Crauwels, Simon Lambrichts, Shauni Verspecht, Kaat Hebbrecht, Jasmien Obbels & Pascal Sienaert

  2. KU Leuven, University Hospital KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Bram Dewachter

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  1. Emma De Schuyteneer
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  2. Bram Dewachter
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Correspondence to Pascal Sienaert.

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Simon Lambrichts received an FWO grant (T000218N). On behalf of all other authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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De Schuyteneer, E., Dewachter, B., Vansteelandt, K. et al. Knowledge and Attitudes of First- and Final-Year Medical Students about Electroconvulsive Therapy: The Impact of Media. Acad Psychiatry 47, 245–250 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-023-01779-5

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