A comparative study of active versus passive learning methods in the modification of attitude towards psychiatry

Abstract

There is a dearth of psychiatrists in India to tackle the growing mental health issues in the population in an effective manner with only about 0.3 psychiatrists per 100,000 population in the country. Primary care doctors and also specialists and super-specialists of other medical fields often fail to detect psychiatric symptoms and refer for treatment appropriately. Also, communication skills and ability to form empathy are essential tools for all doctors which can be learnt best while learning psychiatry. Keeping these things in mind, in this study, an attempt was made to understand the attitudes held by students towards mental illness and the field of psychiatry. The different teaching methods were evaluated in ensuring active participation of all students and in correcting the attitudes towards psychiatry in the medical students.