Introduction

Despite the progress achieved through the Brazilian psychiatric care reform, a lack of preparation among health professionals is still evident in their relations with patients with mental disorders.

Objectives

To evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of first year and final year health care students in relation to schizophrenic patients.

Method

Cross-sectional study which applied a vignette and a questionnaire about a patient with schizophrenia to Nursing, Medicine and Psychology students from Barbacena university (MG). A score system was established for the expected responses, compared to the averages of the student groups.

Results

Sample composed of 209 students, of whom 81 (38.8%) were from the school of Medicine, 61 (29.2%) from the Nursing course and 67 (32.1%) from the Psychology course. Of these, 135 (64.6%) were first year students and 74 (35.4%) were final year students. The final year students reported a higher average score when compared to the freshman student, but no statistically significant differences were observed in the score comparisons neither between first and final year students, nor between the different courses.

Conclusion

Although no significant differences between the first and final year students were observed, negative attitudes and little knowledge were predominant in all courses. Academic instruction requires improvement. Health professionals need to be aware that their attitudes generate a greater impact on society than the attitudes of the general population.

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