Mental Illnesses In Biomedical Research

Introduction / Background According to the National Institute of Mental Health, in the United States, half of all citizens have a mental illness; Most of them never seek treatment (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2008). Suicide is a major concern when considering the lack of mental illness treatment sought. Suicide was found to be twice as prevalent as homicide from 2008-2010, and “more than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable mental disorder” (NIMH, 2008). Psychologists have identified that the present stigma associated with mental illness is among the factors that keep people from seeking psychological professional help (Corrigan, 2004). In the conclusion of the study about perception and attitude of mental …show more content…
The public does not always view mental illnesses as having a physiologic brain illness characterized by a difference in brain structure and function; therefore, these illnesses are viewed with more of a stigma than other physiologic chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. Even as biomedical research advances and additional information is understood about the brain and the role that it plays in mental illness, the public perception has failed to shift. Untreated mental illnesses are a risk factor for suicide; whether it is self-stigma, the media’s portrayal, or a lack of education that keeps one from seeking medical help, these ideas have to be altered. Due to the prevalence of suicide related to mental illness, the lack of medical help sought in relation to mental illnesses, and the increase in health-seeking behavior when factual information is provided, we were interested in the thoughts of the faculty, staff and students of a regional southern university on mental illness. Our surveys were distributed prior to and following the deliverance of biomedical education related to mental illness, to observe if there was a change in stigma …show more content…
Our research question is: Is there variability in the presence and severity of mental illness stigma when presented with higher-level mental illness education? It has been research supported that psychoeducation may successfully reduce stigma (Batterham, Calear, & Christensen, 2013). Our hypothesis is that presenting participants with factual information depicting mental illnesses as brain disorders will correlate with a decrease in stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes toward mental illness and an increase in potential health-seeking behaviors in the presence of mental illness. The factual information in our educational intervention is intended to cause participants to view mental illness as a physical, brain disease that necessitates treatment, as opposed to a petty, “mental problem” that is created and controlled by the