Junior medical students' knowledge about and attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy in a South African setting.

Background: Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a safe and effective treatment modality with a long history of use in psychiatry, it remains controversial owing to misconceptions and negative attitudes among the public and medical profession. The aim of this study was to explore the state of knowledge and attitudes towards ECT among a sample of South African medical students.

Method: Prior to their theoretical psychiatry module, 131 second-year medical students responded to an anonymous online survey designed to assess the source and extent of their ECT knowledge as well as their attitude towards ECT and psychiatry in general.