Photovoice as a Method to Reduce the Stigma of Mental Illness Among Health Care Students.

Photovoice is theorized to influence those who interact with the photos and captions, and so it is important to examine and further understand this mechanism. This article seeks to further our understanding of this critical process-that is, what is the impact of the Photovoice Artist's stories on the viewing audience? Herein we demonstrate how an incarnation of photovoice, digital storytelling, and photo elicitation impacted mental illness stigma among health sciences students. By focusing on application beyond the original exhibition, this article highlights how photovoice methods and aims overlap with best practices in stigma reduction, and its fit with multimodal anti-stigma interventions. Overall, this study contributes to addressing the question of how photovoice can be applied to achieve action for social change.

Interprofessional education in mental health: An opportunity to reduce mental illness stigma.

Mental illness stigma is a common problem in healthcare students and professionals in addition to the general public. Stigma is associated with numerous negative outcomes and hence there is an urgent need to address it. This article explores the potential for interprofessional education (IPE) to emerge as a strategy to reduce mental illness stigma amongst healthcare students and professionals. Most anti-stigma strategies use a combination of knowledge and contact (with a person with lived experience) to change attitudes towards mental illness. Not surprisingly interprofessional educators are well acquainted with theory and learning approaches for attitude change as they are already used in IPE to address learners' attitudes and perceptions of themselves, other professions, and/or teamwork. This article, through an analysis of IPE pedagogy and learning methods, identifies opportunities to address mental illness stigma with application of the conditions that facilitate stigma reduction. The goal of this article is to raise awareness of the issue of mental illness stigma amongst healthcare students and professionals and to highlight interprofessional education as an untapped opportunity for change.

An Integrative Review of Barriers and Facilitators Associated With Mental Health Help Seeking Among Indigenous Populations.

OBJECTIVE: Indigenous populations, compared with majority populations, have a reduced likelihood of receiving professional help for mental health, contributing to health disparities. To increase use of and access to mental health services for Indigenous people, specific factors that affect service use need to be examined. An integrative review was undertaken of the barriers to and facilitators of help seeking and service use for Indigenous populations in Canada, the United States, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. METHODS: Five databases-PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, Social Services Abstracts, and Bibliography of Native North Americans-and gray literature were searched to identify original studies with data specific to Indigenous people. A qualitative analysis of common themes among the studies was conducted, along with a quality appraisal of included articles. Of the 1,010 records identified, the final synthesis included 41 articles. RESULTS: Six main themes emerged: informal supports, which were often used as a first choice for help seeking compared with formal services; structural obstacles and supports; stigma and shame; self-reliance and uncertainty about services; cultural factors and mistrust of mainstream services; and the need for outreach and information regarding mental illness and services. CONCLUSIONS: Policy implications include needed structural changes to decrease mistrust of mainstream systems and services and increased funding and resource availability. Along with technology-facilitated treatment, programs for Indigenous people, families, and communities that enhance education and foster positive relationships can serve as a first step toward Indigenous people becoming comfortable with the idea of talking about mental health and with seeking treatment.