DISSCUSSION
The attitude towards stigma abput mental health in first year medical students’ in Maribor University, Slovenia has reduced folllowing participation in the Life Transitions program.
Our findings parallel the results demonstrated by Wei et al., in the original Canadian Transitions program, who also yielded similar positive outcomes on stigma (9, 10). A systematic review and meta-analysis of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) studies also observed minor reductions in stigma. However, a systematic review of studies focusing on mental health educational initiatives indicated no significant reductions in stigma among healthcare students (11). This trend was similarly observed in the Finnish study, which also had smaller number of participants in the follow up study, but there was no reduction in stigma regarding mental health (13). These discrepancies may be attributed to cultural differences, as individuals in Finland tend to hold more positive attitudes toward mental health in general (12). This hypothesys can also be supported with the comparison of our Slovenian data with the Finnish. Their baseline mean (54.20) was already lower than our baseline mean (71.39), which suggests that stigma about mental health is in general lower in Finnish students, compared to Slovenian.
In conclusion education about mental health and increasing mental health literacy is one of the factors in reducing stigma, but addressing stigma effectively requires a multifaceted approach involving collaboration between government, healthcare providers, and community organizations to promote awareness, understanding, and acceptance of mental health conditions (3).