A Structured Intervention for Medical Students Significantly Improves Awareness of Stigmatisation in Visible Chronic Skin Diseases: A Randomised Controlled Trial

People with visible skin diseases often experience stigmatisation. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a new intervention for medical students to counter the stigmatisation of people with skin diseases. The intervention was evaluated using a randomised controlled design. Effectiveness was assessed at 3 time points. Data from 127 participants were analysed. Regarding the outcome social distance, a significant difference between the measurement points was observed for the intervention group (chi(2)(2) = 54.32, p < 0.001), which also showed a significant effect on agreement with negative stereotypes (F(1.67, 118.67) = 23.83, p < 0.001, partial eta(2) = 0.25). Regarding the outcome agreement with disease-related misconceptions, a significant difference between the measurement time points was observed for the intervention group (chi(2)(2) = 46.33, p < 0.001); similar results were found for the outcome stigmatising behaviour (F(1.86, 131.89) = 6.16, p = 0.003, partial eta(2) = 0.08). The results should encourage medical faculties to invest in such courses in order to prevent stigmatisation of people with skin diseases.

Automated summary

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a new intervention for medical students to counter the stigmatization of people with skin diseases. The results demonstrated that the intervention had significant effects on changing social distance, reducing negative stereotypes, and decreasing stigmatizing behaviors.