Abstract
Objective: Most sub-Saharan African countries have fewer psychiatrists than one per one million people. One possible reason could be that medical students have a negative attitude toward the specialty. The authors evaluated the attitudes toward a career in psychiatry of final-year medical students in Kumasi, Ghana, and compare these with attitudes of medical students in Spain and the United States. Methods: Medical students were given a 28-item questionnaire on attitudes toward psychiatry, which was used in previous studies in Spain and the United States. Results: Ghanaian students (N = 94) had a fairly positive view of psychiatry, similar to those in Spain, although less positive than U.S. students. About 15% were considering psychiatry as a career option. There was evidence of significant stigmatization of patients with mental illness and psychiatrists and concern about the use of coercive detention of patients. Conclusion: The difficulty recruiting physicians into psychiatry in Ghana, and perhaps other African countries, is unlikely to be due to negative attitudes and may be due to a lack of opportunity to train in psychiatry.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 71-75 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Academic Psychiatry |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Psychiatry and Mental Health