Autoestigma y estigma por búsqueda de ayuda en estudiantes y profesionales de la salud: una revisión de la literatura

Background

Stigma is a disqualifying act where negative attitudes and labels towards an individual generate feelings of shame, guilt, and social exclusion. In mental health, there are three basic types of stigma: social stigma, self-stigma, and help-seeking stigma. In this review, we present the literature on self-stigma and help-seeking stigma in health personnel; placing special emphasis on existing interventions and projects to reduce stigma.

Methodology

Narrative review carried out in scientific databases between January 2005 and February 2022, including articles in English and Spanish.

Results

Only 38% of patients with mental health conditions seek professional care, with self-stigma and help-seeking stigma being important contributors to this phenomenon. These data sets include both health professions students and health professionals. Different interventions have been published in the last 10 years mainly based on education and contact with this population group. The results have shown small benefits in reducing stigma, but it is unclear if this lasts over time.

Discussion

Health professionals, including medical students, represent a population vulnerable to mental health conditions; which could be explained by their high academic, healthcare, and social burden. The interventions described so far manage to reduce certain types of stigma in mental health. Still, in the future, more focused approaches are needed to adapt the medical curriculum on this topic. In addition, the development of more standardized instruments that will permit objective measurement of the impact of these interventions is required.