Research conducted on the anti-stigma training designed by Time to Change Wales specifically for healthcare professionals, shows an overwhelmingly positive result in helping staff to recognise the signs of stigmatising behaviour and their role in reducing mental health stigma within services.
Before attending the training, only 7% of people felt extremely confident in recognising the signs of stigmatising behaviour. After the training, almost half of trainees (47%) felt extremely confident in recognising the signs of mental health stigma.
Almost all (99%) of attendees thought that the training clarified the role of healthcare professionals in reducing patient mental health stigma, and a further 96% of trainees found the content of the training relevant to their job role/workplace.
In other areas, 98% of trainees said that their understanding of the impact of mental health stigma improved after attending the training, and 90% of attendees felt more confident in effectively supporting patients in a non-stigmatising way.
Other key highlights include:
- 88% of trainees felt extremely or fairly confident that they have the tools/techniques to reduce patient stigma after attending the training.
- The most helpful aspects of the training as cited by trainees were the lived experience scenarios/ideas, interactive discussions and quiz.
- Trainees’ knowledge of the impact of stigma on the mental health of their patients improved after attending the training.
- Trainees’ confidence that they have the tools/techniques to reduce patient mental health stigma improved after attending the training with trainees becoming overall more confident.
This evaluation report was conducted by Mind to explore the perceptions of the anti-stigma training module for healthcare professionals and measuring its impact across the healthcare sector in Wales. To collect qualitative data for the report, Mind’s Evaluation and Performance team administered an online survey for healthcare professionals to complete after they’d attended the training course to find out more about their experiences. At least 181 participants responded to the survey.
Lowri Wyn Jones, Programme Manager for Time to Change Wales said: “It is brilliant to see how well the anti-stigma training has been received by attendees. The overall feedback will enable us to build on improving the training and ensuring that healthcare professionals have the right tools to tackle mental health stigma in the healthcare sector in Wales.”
The training ran from September 2022 to March 2023 and all findings are outlined in the report.