Stigmatization towards electro convulsive therapy: Impact of practical teaching on medical and nursing students

This study explored the impact of theoretical and practical teaching on electro convulsive therapy (ECT) on medical and nursing students' stigmatizing attitudes towards ECT and representations of it.

Fourth-year medical students and nursing students answered questions from the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT (QuAKE) and from the Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes version 2 (MICA v2) scale. The questionnaires were completed before and after observing a 3-hour practical training session in the ECT unit. The endpoint was the impact of practical training as assessed by MICA and QuAKE scores. Multivariate analyses were used to explore the impact of practical training on MICA and QuAKE total scores.

Stigmatizing attitudes and representations of both medical and nursing students towards ECT were reduced after practical training (β=-4.43 [95% CI -6.15; -2.70] p=0.0001). The impact was greater in medical students (β=-8.03; 95% CI [-10.71; -5.43], P=0.0001) than in nursing students (β=-2.77; 95% CI [-4.98; to 0.44], P=0.02). Gender, psychiatric history in close persons, and having already followed a psychiatric/ECT course had no independent impact on stigmatizing attitudes towards ECT and representations of it.

Practical training in ECT should be given to all health professionals to improve access to it.