= Mental health stigma
<Mental health stigma> concerns devaluation and disadvantage associated with actual or attributed <mental disorders>. It can involve <stereotypes>, <prejudice>, avoidance and <discrimination>. These are related but distinguishable outcomes: knowing factual information about a condition does not necessarily determine how someone treats a person associated with it.
<Sarah Clement> and collaborators compared filmed social contact, live social contact and a lecture condition in a <randomized controlled trial> with student nurses. They measured attitudes, emotional reactions, intended proximity and knowledge immediately after the intervention and at four-month follow-up. Keeping these measures separate makes clear what a claim of reduced <mental health stigma> actually refers to.<Filmed v. live social contact interventions to reduce stigma: randomised controlled trial by Sarah Clement and others>[2012, Methods: three intervention conditions and four primary outcome measures]{ref}
A stated willingness to interact is evidence about intended <behavior>, rather than a direct observation of every subsequent interaction. Interpreting an intervention therefore requires its measurement instruments, comparison condition and follow-up interval, not just a single positive summary label.
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