Table 2.

Summary of evidence on interventions to reduce stigma

Type of intervention or nonexperimental exposure	Knowledge and attitudes	Behaviour
Short term face to face contact	+ SR	− SR
Short term parasocial contact	+ SR	− SR
Long term face to face contacta	+ IS [37, 38]	− SR
Long-term parasocial contact (with or without other interventions)	+ IS (see section on “Anti-stigma interventions for the general public”)	+ IS [39]
Education	+ SR	− SR
Protest	− SR	− SR
Structural approaches	− SR	− SR

Key: + positive evidence; − evidence lacking; SR evidence from one or more systematic reviews; IS evidence from one or more individual studies [study references in brackets]

^aLong-term contact through knowing someone with a mental illness