Conference paper
THE WOUNDED HEALER FILM: A LONDON COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION EVENT TO CHALLENGE MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA THROUGH THE POWER OF MOTION PICTURE
Ahmed Hankir
; Department of Psychiatry, Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies, Cape Canaveral, FL, USA; Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with the University of Cambridge (BCMHR-CU), Cambridge, UK; Leeds York Partnership Foundation Trust, Leeds, UK
Rashid Zaman
; Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with the University of Cambridge (BCMHR-CU), Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Benjamin Geers
; The University of Manchester, School of Medicine, Manchester, UK
Gus Rosie
; The University of Manchester, School of Medicine, Manchester, UK
Grainne Breslin
; The University of Manchester, School of Medicine, Manchester, UK
Lilly Barr
; The University of Manchester, School of Medicine, Manchester, UK
Frederick R. Carrick
; Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with the University of Cambridge (BCMHR-CU), Cambridge, UK; Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies, Cape Canaveral, FL, USA; Harvard Macy and MGH Institutes, Boston, MA, USA
Sal Anderson
; London College of Communication, University of Arts, London, UK
Abstract
Background: There is a preponderance of mental health problems in students on a global scale which can have a considerable
effect on their academic performance and a profound impact on their quality of life. Many universities offer free counselling services however despite this a recent study in the US revealed that up to 84% of students who screened positive for depression or anxiety did not receive any treatment. There are many obstacles that students with mental health problems encounter that prevents them from receiving care, foremost among these is stigma. Film based interventions are showing promise at challenging stigma which can subsequently lower the barriers to accessing and using mental health services for students who need them.
Design: We conducted a single-arm, pre-post comparison study on arts students from the London College of Communication.
Participants were exposed to the Wounded Healer film, a motion picture featuring a protagonist who is a doctor with first-hand
experience of psychological distress. Validated stigma scales on knowledge (Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS)),
behaviour (Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS)) and attitudes (Community Attitudes towards the Mentally Ill (CAMI))
were administered on participants before and immediately after exposure to the intervention.
Results: 21/28 (78%) of the participants recruited for the study responded. The mean age of respondents was 22 years (Std. Dev 2.20). There was an increase in the MAKS score after students viewed the Wounded Healer film indicating lower levels of stigma in mental health knowledge however this change was not statistically significant.
Discussion: A previous study on the Wounded Healer film demonstrated a reduction in stigma among healthcare students. The
results of this pilot study, however, suggest that a film featuring a protagonist who is not from the same background as the audience may not be effective at reducing mental health stigma in that group. This is consistent with the results of recent research that revealed that an anti-stigma intervention that is effective in one group may not necessarily be effective in other groups. Our findings, however, must be interpreted with caution due to the limitations of this study. Future research with a prospective study design, a larger sample size and a control group exposed to a film with a protagonist who shares the same background as the audience is needed.
Keywords
stigma; mental health; students; film
Hrčak ID:
263711
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2017.
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