Stigma Regarding Electroconvulsive Therapy Among Healthcare Professionals

The stigma surrounding electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) among healthcare professionals can lead to a lack of training, limit accessibility to treatment, and introduce variability in its application. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and knowledge regarding ECT within healthcare professionals.

A total of 215 professionals from the Vallès Oriental region (Barcelona) completed the translated version of the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT (QuAKE). The relationship between attitude and knowledge scores was analyzed in relation to several demographic variables with bivariate descriptive statistics.

The characteristics associated with a more unfavorable attitude and lower knowledge were being a female professional, aged under 30 years or over 50 years, belonging to the nursing assistant group, working in a setting not related to mental health, and never having witnessed an ECT session. A positive correlation was observed between attitude and knowledge about ECT.

This study identified nursing assistants as the group with the most unfavorable attitudes and lowest knowledge about ECT, and the social workers group had a favorable attitude despite having limited knowledge. The correlation between knowledge and attitude suggests the possibility of improving the latter through appropriate training, although these aspects are not always affected in the same way in all professional groups.