Findings of a new study published today in the journal Psychiatric Services show improvements in behaviour towards people with mental health problems in England, during the first year of the national anti-stigma programme, Time to Change.
The research, led by Dr Claire Henderson and Professor Graham Thornicroft from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), shows a four per cent drop in the number of people reporting mental health discrimination, and a 20 per cent reduction in the levels of discrimination across 22 identified life areas. This is the first time that a national mental health anti-stigma programme has been evaluated against targets to reduce discrimination.
The study was a key part of the evaluation of the first year of the Time to Change programme, run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. During this time the programme was funded by the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief. As part of its first year, Time to Change delivered a series of national and local projects including a social marketing campaign, resources for employers and employees, and a series of community activities across England.
The research was undertaken between 2008 and 2009. People aged between 18 to 65 years using mental health services were selected at random from National Health Service records to take part. In addition to the overall four per cent reduction in discrimination, there was a seven per cent reduction in the amount of people who said they experienced discrimination from their families. When looking at discrimination from friends, this improved by 14 per cent after the year and discrimination when finding employment dropped by eight per cent. Finally discrimination experienced during employment reduced by four per cent4.
While a positive result was found within some audiences and groups, experiences of discrimination from health professionals in mental health and primary care services didn’t change significantly.
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, said: “It is tragic that nine out of ten people with mental health problems in England report discrimination. Stigma and discrimination are life limiting for millions of people and, for some, life threatening experiences.
“However these encouraging early findings, from the first year of the Time to Change programme, show that by working together we can start to improve the way people think and behave. Tens of thousands of people with mental health problems have spoken out to tackle stigma and improve understanding, and hundreds of organisations have done their bit. We still have a great deal of work to do before people with mental health problems can lead lives free from discrimination, and be full and active citizens able to contribute their talents to society.”
Dr Claire Henderson, from the Health Services and Population Research (HSPR) Department at the IoP at King’s, said: “These are very promising early findings and suggest less discrimination in several important aspects of the people’s everyday lives, such as their relationships with friends and family, socialising and employment. People with mental health problems are often unfairly treated and we now want to see whether these improvements are sustained in the long-term, and whether we can identify any improvements in other areas of people’s lives.”
Time to Change is now in its second phase and is funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief.
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For more information please contact Hayley Richardson, Time to Change Senior Media Officer, on [email protected] or 0208 2152 358/ 07789 721 966
Notes to Editors
Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief.
For more information go to www.time-to-change.org.uk
Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) supported the first phase of the Time to Change campaign with a £16million grant from its £160m Well-being programme. The largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has awarded over £4.4bn to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since 2004. For full details of BIG’s work visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is committed to supporting people living with mental health problems. The projects Comic Relief funds ensure people with mental health problems get their voices heard in the decisions that affect their lives and get the help they need to recover. Comic Relief also helps people to promote their rights and reduce the stigma and discrimination they face so that they feel more included in society. The £4 million grant to Time to Change is the second time the charity has awarded Time to Change its largest UK grant and is part of
Comic Relief's long standing commitment to this issue. For more information go to www.comicrelief.com
Department of Health
On 2 February 2011 the Department of Health launched No health without mental health, a cross-government mental health outcomes strategy for people of all ages which has the twin aims of keeping people well and improving their mental health and, when people are not well, improving their outcomes through high-quality services.
The strategy is based on six shared objectives, developed with partners from across the mental health sector, and focuses on ‘Recovery’ and the reduction of stigma and discrimination as overarching themes.
To help deliver the objective to reduce the stigma faced by people with mental health problems, in 2011 the Department agreed to support Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. The Department of Health is providing the campaign with up to £16 million of funding together with a further £4 million from Comic Relief. This funding will help Time to Change continue their work until March 2015.
King’s College London
King's College London is one of the top 30 universities in the world (2011/12 QS international world rankings), and was The Sunday Times 'University of the Year 2010/11', and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has nearly 23,500 students (of whom more than 9,000 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 6,000 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £525 million (year ending 31 July 2011).
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and
comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.
The College is in the midst of a five-year, £500 million fundraising campaign – World questions|King’s answers – created to address some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity as quickly as feasible. The campaign’s three priority areas are neuroscience and mental health, leadership and society, and cancer. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.