PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Tariq M Hassan
AU  - Syed O Ahmed
AU  - Alfred C White
AU  - Niall Galbraith
TI  - A postal survey of doctors' attitudes to becoming mentally ill
AID  - 10.7861/clinmedicine.9-4-327
DP  - 2009 Aug 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 327--332
VI  - 9
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/4/327.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/4/327.full
SO  - Clin Med2009 Aug 01; 9
AB  - A postal survey of 3,512 doctors in Birmingham was carried out to assess attitudes to becoming mentally ill. The response rate for the questionnaire was 70% (2,462 questionnaires). In total, 1,807 (73.4%) doctors would choose to disclose a mental illness to family and friends rather than to a professional. Career implications were cited by 800 (32.5%) respondents as the most frequent reason for failure to disclose. For outpatient treatment, 51.1% would seek formal professional advice. For inpatient treatment, 41.0% would choose a local private facility, with only 21.1% choosing a local NHS facility. Of respondents 12.4% indicated that they had experienced a mental illness. Stigma to mental health is prevalent among doctors. At present there are no clear guidelines for doctors to follow for mental healthcare. Confidential referral pathways to specialist psychiatric care for doctors and continuous education on the vulnerability of doctors to mental illness early on in medical training is crucial.