The investigation of belief, stigma, and empathic tendency levels of healthcare workers towards mental illnesses: The sample of Ağri province

In this study, healthcare workers' beliefs, stigma, and empathic tendency toward mental illnesses were examined. The research was carried out with 334 healthcare personnel (physicians, nurses, midwives, audiologists, medical secretaries, dental prosthesis technicians, etc.) working in healthcare institutions in Ağrı province. Four data collection instruments were used: the Personal Information Form, the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (RHİÖ), the Stigma Scale Toward Mental Illness for Healthcare Workers (SÇ‑RHYDÖ), and the Empathic Tendency Scale (EEÖ). IBM SPSS Version 27 was used for data analysis. The analyses included the t‑test, one‑way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis test, post‑hoc tests, and Spearman correlation analysis. The results indicated a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness Scale (RHİÖ) and the Stigma Scale (SÇ‑RHYDÖ) (p < 0,01), while a very weak relationship was found between the Empathic Tendency Scale (EEÖ) and the Stigma Scale (SÇ‑RHYDÖ) (p < 0,05). Healthcare workers' belief levels toward mental illness were found to be moderate–high, stigma levels moderate, and empathic tendency levels high.