Medical students’ attitudes towards mental health disclosure: a qualitative study
Journal of Public Mental Health
ISSN: 1746-5729
Article publication date: 17 September 2020
Issue publication date: 1 April 2021
Abstract
Purpose
In 2013, the General Medical Council conducted research into best practice for supporting medical students with mental health concerns, producing a document outlining University’s duty of care. It also outlined reasons as to why medical students are susceptible to mental illness. The purpose of this paper is to explore what factors affected medical students' disclosure of mental health problems and their help-seeking behaviour today and if these differed from the GMC’s findings from 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was issued to all University of Glasgow medical student year groups. In total, 72 people responded. All responses were then analysed by the primary researcher using Mayring’s six-step approach of systematic, rule guided qualitative text analysis.
Findings
Four main barriers to disclosure were revealed: fear of repercussions, medical student “expectations”, judgement and lack of support. Respondents feared being deemed unfit to practise, displaying “weakness” or being treated differently. They believed support provided was inadequate or inaccessible. Less than half felt the Medical School made mental health support easily available and only 11% were even aware of the GMC document. Respondents believed medical students were psychologically vulnerable due to Medical School environment, work load, “expectations” and course content. They perceived the Medical School was “a pressure cooker” for mental health problems and yet student well-being was not prioritised.
Originality/value
The research highlighted some key areas that universities should address, such as promoting support services available, recognising the unique stresses of the medical curriculum and the need for provision of resources that can be accessed without fear, stigmatisation or uncertainty.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Throughout this research my supervisor, Jacqueline Reilly, has given me a great deal of support and guidance, particularly in the methodology of qualitative analysis.
The author would also like to thank the University of Glasgow for allowing me to undertake this research as part of my BSc in Medical Sciences.
Citation
Christy, R. (2021), "Medical students’ attitudes towards mental health disclosure: a qualitative study", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 51-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-05-2020-0051
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited