To what extent are students enrolled in healthcare programmes at University of Limerick being educated to understand, recognize and address stigmatisation of their future clients?

Previous studies suggest that many healthcare professionals have stigmatising and discriminatory attitudes which negatively affect the well-being of clients. While education is essential in reducing these attitudes, limited evidence is available regarding the education provisions of healthcare programmes in providing stigma awareness and prevention. This study aimed to investigate (1) what measures regarding stigma awareness and prevention are embedded in healthcare programmes at University of Limerick and (2) to what extent healthcare students may inadvertently perpetuate stigmatising attitudes. A document content analysis was completed to determine the extent stigma awareness and prevention are explicitly addressed in module handbooks which comprise the curricula of healthcare programmes. Questions based on the National Disability Authority’s 2007 “Public Attitudes toward Disability” survey were completed by 56 healthcare students to determine the presence of inadvertently held stigmatising attitudes. Findings indicate that there were minimal explicit references to stigma awareness and prevention within module handbooks. While students overall had more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities compared to the public, there were some indications of less positive attitudes towards people with mental health and intellectual/learning difficulties. The findings suggest that a greater emphasis may be needed towards providing stigma awareness and prevention education within healthcare programmes.