In France, 600,000 people suffer from schizophrenia: this pathology concerns 1% of the national population. Produced by the Janssen laboratory, the PromesseS associations, UNAFAM, the Pierre Denicker Foundation and the OpinionWay polling institute, the latest National Schizophrenia Barometer* shines the spotlight on this little-known disease… and dismantles certain received ideas.
First received idea: 81% of French people consider that split personality is “the” main symptom of schizophrenia. In reality, people affected by this disease can suffer from auditory and visual hallucinations, delusional thoughts, and behavioral disorders that can be accompanied by massive anxiety.
Schizophrenia, a disease perceived as “dangerous”
Second received idea: schizophrenia is perceived as a “dangerous” disease by 83% of French people, 77% of general practitioners and 90% of pharmacists. Worse: at the mention of the word “schizophrenia” 40% of the general public spontaneously think of “madness”!
Third received idea: 20% of French people think that schizophrenia can be cured… even though it is a disease from which there is no cure, to date.
According to the National Barometer of Schizophrenia, 60% to 78% of sick people (or suffering from associated disorders) are unemployed. Finally, we learn that 1 in 5 people with schizophrenia is homeless; 1 in 3 people with schizophrenia will have substance abuse problems in their lifetime.
*carried out between December 2017 and January 2018 with 1102 French people from the general public, patients, health professionals and departmental advisers.
Source: press release National Barometer of Schizophrenia
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