SynthesisThe British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science2015
Evidence for effective interventions to reduce mental health-related stigma and discrimination in the medium and long term: systematic review.
Synthesis in The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 138 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
138 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Interventions to Reduce Mental Health Stigma Among Health Care Professionals in Primary Health Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Pooled it
- Patient's and healthcare provider's experiences with Opioid Maintenance Treatment (OMT): a qualitative evidence synthesis.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Mental health related stigma in Romania: systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Indirect social contact interventions to reduce mental health-related stigma in low- and middle-income countries: systematic review.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2022Pooled it
- An updated systematic review of interventions to increase awareness of mental health and well-being in athletes, coaches, officials and parents.Systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness of arts interventions to reduce mental-health-related stigma among youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- The Long-Term Effectiveness of Interventions Addressing Mental Health Literacy and Stigma of Mental Illness in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of public health · 2021Pooled it
- Core components of mental health stigma reduction interventions in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Reducing mental health-related stigma among medical and nursing students in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2019Pooled it
- Reducing mental health-related stigma in primary health care settings in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2018Pooled it
- Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability.BMC public health · 2018Pooled it
- A systematic review of interventions to increase awareness of mental health and well-being in athletes, coaches and officials.Systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Reducing public stigma toward people with mental illness through the ACE intervention: a cluster-randomized waitlist-controlled trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- A Dementia-Friendly Educational Program Using Virtual Reality for the General Public in Japan: A Randomized Controlled Trial for DRIVE.The Gerontologist · 2024Trial
- The effects of an educational intervention on reducing stigma among medical students toward patients with psychiatric disorders.BMC medical education · 2024Trial
- "It's Tough to Be a Black Man with Schizophrenia": Randomized Controlled Trial of a Brief Video Intervention to Reduce Public Stigma.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of a Stigma Awareness Intervention on Reemployment of People with Mental Health Issues/Mental Illness: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2024Trial
- Effects of media campaign videos on stigma and attitudes towards treatment seeking for alcohol use disorder: a randomized controlled study.BMC public health · 2023Trial
- A parish-based multilevel cluster randomized controlled trial to reduce stigma and mental health treatment disparities among Latino communities.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Trial
- The different faces of mental illness stigma: Systematic variation of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination by type of illness.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2022Trial
78 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMost research on interventions to counter stigma and discrimination has focused on short-term outcomes and has been conducted in high-income settings.
aimsTo synthesise what is known globally about effective interventions to reduce mental illness-based stigma and discrimination, in relation first to effectiveness in the medium and long term (minimum 4 weeks), and second to interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
methodWe searched six databases from 1980 to 2013 and conducted a multi-language Google search for quantitative studies addressing the research questions. Effect sizes were calculated from eligible studies where possible, and narrative syntheses conducted. Subgroup analysis compared interventions with and without social contact.
resultsEighty studies (n = 422 653) were included in the review. For studies with medium or long-term follow-up (72, of which 21 had calculable effect sizes) median standardised mean differences were 0.54 for knowledge and -0.26 for stigmatising attitudes. Those containing social contact (direct or indirect) were not more effective than those without. The 11 LMIC studies were all from middle-income countries. Effect sizes were rarely calculable for behavioural outcomes or in LMIC studies.
conclusionsThere is modest evidence for the effectiveness of anti-stigma interventions beyond 4 weeks follow-up in terms of increasing knowledge and reducing stigmatising attitudes. Evidence does not support the view that social contact is the more effective type of intervention for improving attitudes in the medium to long term. Methodologically strong research is needed on which to base decisions on investment in stigma-reducing interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.