Challenging mental health related stigma in China: Systematic review and meta-analysis. II. Interventions among people with mental illness

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Ziyan Xu - , Ulm University (Author)
  • Fangfang Huang - , Capital Medical University (CMU) (Author)
  • Markus Kösters - , Ulm University (Author)
  • Nicolas Rüsch - , Ulm University (Author)

Abstract

People with mental illness often face different types of mental illness stigma that may affect their lives, including perceived stigma, self-stigma, harmful coping strategies and poor quality of life. Although anti-stigma interventions for people with mental illness from Western countries have been identified by recent systematic reviews, their efficacy in China is unknown. This review evaluates the efficacy of anti-stigma interventions among people with mental illness in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. A systematic search of 8 electronic databases in English and Chinese yielded 17 randomized and non-randomized controlled trials. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated wherever possible. Psychoeducation was the most commonly used intervention. SMDs were large and significant for perceived/experienced/anticipated stigma, self-prejudice and coping with stigma, as well as for depression and anxiety symptoms and quality of life. Both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and psychoeducation had positive effects on perceived/experienced/anticipated stigma. The quality of studies was modest and heterogeneity across studies was high. Anti-stigma interventions demonstrated promise to reduce stigma's negative impact on people with mental illness in China, but more high-quality intervention research is needed.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)457-464
Number of pages8
JournalPsychiatry research
Volume255
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2017
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 28780128
ORCID /0000-0001-7018-6021/work/168207877

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Chinese people, Interventions, Perceived stigma, Self-stigma, Systematic review