Dataset Information

Impact of Providing Peer Support on Medical Students' Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health Stigma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Peer-support programs in medical school can buffer feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, social isolation, and burnout, drawing upon the benefits of near-peer-support resources. This study examined the effects of providing support to students in a medical school peer-support program.

Methods

Using a pre-post, quasi-experimental study design, the investigators surveyed medical students who were peer supporters in their second through fourth years of medical school with four measures assessing (1) empathy, (2) self-efficacy, (3) mental health stigma, and (4) likelihood to assist peers with mental health problems to examine if serving as a volunteer peer supporter had any effect. Participants included 38 medical students that were actively enrolled peer supporters during the 2020-2021 year at a United States allopathic medical school.

Results

Medical students who participated as peer supporters were found to have higher ratings of empathy scores (Z = -1.964, p = 0.050, r = 0.34) and self-efficacy scores (Z = -2.060, p = 0.039, r = 0.35) after participation in the program. No significant changes were noted for mental health stigma or likelihood to assist peers with mental health problems.

Discussion

Peer-support programs present a low-cost, sustainable modality to promote wellbeing in medical students. There is a growing body of literature documenting the benefits of peer-support services. This brief, novel study examined the effects of providing peer support on the peer supporters and found higher self-reported ratings of empathy and self-efficacy after participation. These findings underscore peer-support programs as a valuable wellness resource not only for medical students who use the services but for those who provide them as well.

SUBMITTER: Abrams MP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9099875 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Impact of Providing Peer Support on Medical Students' Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health Stigma.

Abrams Matthew P MP Salzman Joshua J Espina Rey Andrea A Daly Katherine K

International journal of environmental research and public health 20220423 9

<h4>Background</h4>Peer-support programs in medical school can buffer feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, social isolation, and burnout, drawing upon the benefits of near-peer-support resources. This study examined the effects of providing support to students in a medical school peer-support program.<h4>Methods</h4>Using a pre-post, quasi-experimental study design, the investigators surveyed medical students who were peer supporters in their second through fourth years of medical school with four m ...[more]

PMID: 35564535

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Project description:BackgroundA growing body of literature has revealed that many medical students and doctors do not seek professional help for their mental health due to fear of stigma (both public- and self-stigma) and questioning of their clinical competency. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate direct and indirect interventions that address mental health stigma in medical students and/or doctors. We focused explicitly on studies that measured the impact on self-stigma outcomes.MethodA systematic search of the following electronic databases was undertaken from inception to 13 July 2022: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, together with manual searching of reference lists. Screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts of eligible studies, plus quality appraisal using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, were independently conducted by multiple reviewers with disagreements resolved via discussion.ResultsFrom 4,018 citations, five publications met the inclusion criteria. None of the studies explicitly aimed to reduce self-stigmatisation, with the majority focusing on medical students. Most of the identified interventions focused on reducing professional stigma (i.e., stigma toward patients with mental illness) and measurement of self-stigma was incidentally collected via a subscale of the general stigma measure selected. Three studies found significant reductions in self-stigma following the delivered intervention. These studies were of moderate quality, had medical student samples, employed combined education and contact interventions, and used the same outcome measure.DiscussionIntentional development and evaluation of interventions specifically designed to decrease self-stigma among doctors and medical students are needed, with further research required on the optimal components, format, length, and delivery of such interventions. Researchers delivering public/professional stigma reduction interventions should strongly consider measuring the impact of such interventions on self-stigma outcomes, using fit-for-purpose, psychometrically sound instruments.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To assess stigma towards people with mental illness among Singapore medical and nursing students using the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC), and to examine the relationship of students' stigmatising attitudes with sociodemographic and education factors. DESIGN AND SETTING:Cross-sectional study conducted in Singapore PARTICIPANTS: The study was conducted among 1002 healthcare (502 medical and 500 nursing) students during April to September 2016. Students had to be Singapore citizens or permanent residents and enrolled in public educational institutions to be included in the study. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 21.3 (3.3) years, with the majority being females (71.1%). 75.2% of the participants were Chinese, 14.1% were Malays, and 10.7% were either Indians or of other ethnicity. METHODS:Factor analysis was conducted to validate the OMS-HC scale in the study sample and to examine its factor structure. Descriptive statistics and multivariate linear regression were used to examine sociodemographic and education correlates. RESULTS:Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure with 14 items. The factors were labelled as attitudes towards help-seeking and people with mental illness, social distance and disclosure. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that medical students were found to be associated with lower total OMS-HC scores (P<0.05), less negative attitudes (P<0.001) and greater disclosure (P<0.05) than nursing students. Students who had a monthly household income of below S$4000 had more unfavourable attitudes than those with an income of SGD$10 000 and above (P<0.05). Having attended clinical placement was associated with more negative attitudes (P<0.05) among the students. CONCLUSION:Healthcare students generally possessed positive attitudes towards help-seeking and persons with mental illness, though they preferred not to disclose their own mental health condition. Academic curriculum may need to enhance the component of mental health training, particularly on reducing stigma in certain groups of students.

Dataset Information

Impact of Providing Peer Support on Medical Students' Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health Stigma.

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Impact of Providing Peer Support on Medical Students' Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Mental Health Stigma.

Similar Datasets

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