Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Increasing evidence suggests that the stigma associated with mental illness is a powerful barrier to accessing mental health care worldwide. Consistent findings in high-income countries have shown that contact with people with mental illness is the most effective intervention to reduce stigma. However, little evidence is available at present on how to reduce stigma in low- and middle-income countries, including China. The aim of this pilot study is to assess how feasible an intervention to reduce stigma among the primary care and community healthcare staff through a contact-based education intervention.
Who can participate?
Staff from primary care centers, community committees, Civil Affairs, and the China Disabled Persons' Federation in the localities involved in the study: the Haidian District, Chaoyang District, and Fangshan District.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive a lecture on mental health stigma only or to receive a lecture followed by a session with patients. The lecture will last 1 to 1.5 hours health and patient contact session lasts 1 hour and involves contact with recovery patients with mental illness.
Participants will be interviewed and evaluated by researchers 4 times, each time lasting about 30 minutes. The interview evaluation will discuss background information about participants (such as age) and information on their knowledge, attitude, and behavior about stigma of mental illness and people with mental illness. These evaluations will take place before the lecture, after the lecture/lecture and sesssion, 1 month after intervention, 3 months after intervention.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
A possible benefit of the study is that it will help participants to learn about mental illness and may improve perceptions and understanding of people with mental illness. Participation may also help to develop appropriate strategies for the treatment of stigma surrounding mental illness and improve the lives and survival of people with mental illness and their families.
Discomfort may be caused by the content of the questionnaires completed by the participants. These are stated for the purpose of assessing stigma related to mental illness. If certain items in the scale cause discomfort, participants may refuse to answer.
Where is the study run from?
The study run from Peking University Sixth Hospital (China) and King’s College London (UK).
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
From November 2016 to March 2019
Who is funding the study?
This study is supported by King’s College London – Peking University Health Science Center Joint Institute for Medical Research.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Wufang Zhang
zhangwufang@bjmu.edu.cn
Trial website
Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Wufang Zhang
ORCID ID
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0221-0012
Contact details
No. 51 Hua Yuan Bei Road
Haidian District
Beijing
100191
China
+86 10 82802834
zhangwufang@bjmu.edu.cn
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
Nil known
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Nil known
Protocol/serial number
ECEIRSCSBC01
Study information
Scientific title
Effect of a contact-based education intervention on reducing stigma among community health and care staff in Beijing, China (ECEIRSCSBC): a pilot randomized controlled study
Acronym
ECEIRSCSBC
Study hypothesis
A contact-based education intervention reduces the stigma associated with mental illness more than a lecture to community health and care staff.
Ethics approval
Approved 07/02/2017, the Peking University Institutional Review Board (Room 501, Yifu Building, Peking University Health Science Center, No 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100191 China; llwyh@bjmu.edu.cn; +86 10 82805751), ref: IRB00001052-16077
Study design
Double-blind randomized controlled trial.
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Community
Trial type
Prevention
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use contact details to requste a participant information sheet.
Condition
Stigma associated with mental illness
Intervention
Participants had an equal probability of being assigned to the two groups. The coordinator in each site gave a study number to each participant according to the order in which informed consent was obtained. Using a computer-generated randomization a list was compiled through simple randomization, participants were randomly assigned (ratio 1:1) to the control or intervention group.
Those in the control group received the lecture alone without contact, while those in the intervention group were invited also to stay for a session that followed immediately after this, i.e. the contact session.
Participants will complete questionnaires regarding their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding mental health before the lecture and then after either the lecture (control group) or the session (intervention group), and in face-to-face evaluation sessions at 1 and 3 months follow up.
Intervention type
Behavioural
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Mental health-related knowledge measured using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS) at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and after 1 and 3 months
Secondary outcome measures
1. Mental health-related attitudes measured using The Mental illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes (MICA) at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and after 1 and 3 months
2. Intended behavior measured using the Reported and Intended Behaviour Scale (RIBS) at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and after 1 and 3 months
Overall trial start date
21/11/2016
Overall trial end date
28/03/2019
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Staff from primary care centers, community committees, Civil Affairs, and China Disabled Persons' Federation
2. Aged between 18 and 60 years
3. More than one year of work experience
4. Literate
Participant type
Health professional
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
121 participants, 61 in intervention group and 60 in control group.
Total final enrolment
121
Participant exclusion criteria
Does not meet inclusion criteria
Recruitment start date
13/12/2018
Recruitment end date
29/12/2018
Locations
Countries of recruitment
China
Trial participating centre
Zhoukoudian Community Health Service Center
No 28 Zhoukoudian Street
Fangshan District
Beijing
102400
China
Trial participating centre
Balizhuang Community Health Service Center
No 11 Yanjingxili
Chaoyang District
Beijing
100053
China
Trial participating centre
Shangdi Hospital
No.6, Shucun West Road
Nongda South Road
Haidian District
Beijing
100084
China
Trial participating centre
Malianwa sub-district office of the Haidian District People's Government
Yard 8, Malianwa Street
Haidian District
Beijing
100193
China
Sponsor information
Organisation
Peking University Sixth Hospital
Sponsor details
No. 51 Hua Yuan Bei Road
Haidian District
Beijing
100191
China
+86 10 82802834
liuyuankeban@163.com
Sponsor type
Hospital/treatment centre
Website
Funders
Funder type
University/education
Funder name
King’s College London – Peking University Health Science Center Joint Institute for Medical Research
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal.
IPD sharing statement:
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to constraints on the data sharing permissions of the samples included in this study, the trialists are not allowed to share the data for public use
Intention to publish date
01/10/2020
Participant level data
Not expected to be available
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list