Web Survey of Turkish Pharmacy Students Comparing First and Fifth Years' Antidepressant Awareness and Stigmatizing Attitudes Regarding Depression and Anxiety

The prevalence of depression and anxiety has increased day by day. Prejudice, self-stigma, and public stigma, on the other hand, continue to prevent patients from seeking adequate treatment, particularly in traditional communities. In this web-based, cross-sectional study, both the presence of depression and anxiety, and the knowledge, attitude, and awareness of first- and fifth (final)-year pharmacy students were examined via an online survey. The aim was to demonstrate the potential impact of public information and five years of pharmacy school on knowledge, attitude, and awareness. Our study population consisted of first- and fifth-year pharmacy students enrolled in one faculty of pharmacy during the spring semester of 2022-2023. The Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Scale were utilized to measure the presence of depression and anxiety, while the Depression and Antidepressant Awareness and Knowledge Scale (DAKAS) was applied to assess their knowledge, attitude, and awareness. Fifth-year participants (n = 101) exhibited noticeably fewer stigmatizing attitudes than first-year participants (n = 104) (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the mean Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety scores in first- and fifth-year pharmacy students. Being in the fifth class (OR: 3.690; p = 0.025), being of female gender (OR: 4.653; p < 0.001), and having a relationship with someone who took a psychotropic (OR: 3.060; p = 0.008) were associated with a lower overall stigma score by multiple linear regression analysis. The students' awareness of antidepressants and familiarity with mental health issues at the end of their pharmacy education were higher and stigmatization behavior was lower than in first-year students. The positive attitudes at the end of their training towards depression will reduce the likelihood of future pharmacists' patients from being exposed to stigmatization, prevents the formation of an additional stress factor, and likely will improve pharmacy practices.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:12

Enthalten in:

Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) - 12(2024), 2 vom: 01. März

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Yalçın, Nadir [VerfasserIn]
Özkan, Gökçe Gül [VerfasserIn]
Allegaert, Karel [VerfasserIn]
Ak, Sertaç [VerfasserIn]
Demirkan, Kutay [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Antidepressants
Anxiety
Depression
Journal Article
Peer use
Pharmacy education
Pharmacy students
Stigma
Stigmatizing attitudes

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 27.03.2024

published: Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.3390/pharmacy12020045

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM370153006