Journal article

Experiences of stigma and discrimination of people with schizophrenia in India

Mirja Koschorke, R Padmavati, Shuba Kumar, Alex Cohen, Helen A Weiss, Sudipto Chatterjee, Jesina Pereira, Smita Naik, Sujit John, Hamid Dabholkar, Madhumitha Balaji, Animish Chavan, Mathew Varghese, R Thara, Graham Thornicroft, Vikram Patel

SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE | PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD | Published : 2014

Abstract

Stigma contributes greatly to the burden of schizophrenia and is a major obstacle to recovery, yet, little is known about the subjective experiences of those directly affected in low and middle income countries. This paper aims to describe the experiences of stigma and discrimination of people living with schizophrenia (PLS) in three sites in India and to identify factors influencing negative discrimination. The study used mixed methods and was nested in a randomised controlled trial of community care for schizophrenia. Between November 2009 and October 2010, data on four aspects of stigma experienced by PLS and several clinical variables were collected from 282 PLS and 282 caregivers and an..

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Grants

Awarded by Wellcome Trust


Awarded by Medical Research Council


Awarded by National Institute for Health Research


Funding Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the valuable contributions made by all members of the COPSI research and intervention teams. We greatly appreciate the support provided by the collaborating psychiatrists Rajendra Hegde, MD, Pundalik R. Pai Kakode, MD, Melvin Chagas Silva, MD, Assistant Professor,Peter Caste lino, MD, Prasanna Dabholkar, MD, Animish Chavan, MD, Rajshree Deshpande, MD and Ramesh Kumar, MD. The COPSI trial was supported by a Wellcome Trust project grant, and the nested study on stigma by a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Fellowship awarded to Mirja Koschorke (grant number 087020/Z/08/Z). Vikram Patel is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (grant number 091834/Z/10/Z). Graham Thornicroft is supported by the National Institute for Health Research, and is a visiting professor at the University of KwaZulu Natal. Helen A Weiss is supported by the UK Medical Research Council.