AUTHOR=Moreira Maria Beatriz P. , Pereira Helena P. , Torres Inês N. , Marina Sílvia , Ricou Miguel 

TITLE=The stigma towards mental illness: Portuguese validation of the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Healthcare Providers (OMS-HC)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1359483

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1359483

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>Stigma toward mental illness significantly contributes to a lower quality of healthcare that can be provided. There are few studies on this topic in Portugal, so validating a scale that can evaluate and study the stigma is paramount. The aim of this study was to validate the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Portuguese healthcare professionals.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 503 participants were included in this study, and the majority was female (81.1%). The sample consisted mainly of psychologists (39.4%) and physicians (30.8%). Reliability and validity analyses were conducted and included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>Our results suggest that a 12-item model was the most appropriate (RMSEA = 0.026, SRMR = 0.057, CFI = 0.979, TLI = 0.973, GFI = 0.955) compared to our 15-item model and the original model. Items 8, 9 and 10 were removed. The 12-item scale’s internal consistency was adequate (α = 0.71; ω = 0.72).</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The 12-item model of the scale showed good reliability and validity and is appropriate for use with Portuguese healthcare professionals.</p></sec>