Abstract

The long-term effects of interventions intended to reduce the stigma against individuals with mental disorders among university students remain unclear. Few studies have included follow-ups of one year or more. This study aimed to evaluate the 1-year maintenance of changes induced by an intervention designed to reduce stigma among health science students in Chile. A randomized clinical trial with pre-post measurements and 1-year follow-up was conducted. A total of 244 fourth-semester students from the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, midwifery, psychology, and social work participated. The intervention was implemented as part of a mandatory course within the curriculum and combined educational and contact-based strategies. The intervention significantly reduced negative attitudes and social distance between the pre- and post-intervention assessments. However, these differences were not maintained at the 1-year follow-up. Nevertheless, non-significant differences were observed between the control and experimental groups, favoring the latter. One possible factor influencing these results is intervention length. In addition, brief reinforcement interventions are recommended to sustain changes over time. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.